Re: [Marxism] Titillation in Tehran

[Aaron Aarons <aaron@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2008 07:20:38 -0400
>From: "Ruthless Critic of All that Exists" <ok.president+marxml@xxxxxxxxx>
>
>On Thu, Oct 16, 2008 at 6:33 AM, Aaron Aarons <aaron@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> 
>wrote:
>
>>>Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2008 08:57:48 -0400
>>>From: Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx>
>>>
>>>http://chronicle.com/weekly/v55/i08/08b02001.htm
>
> >>Two-thirds of Iran's population consists of urbanites between the ages
> >>of 15 and 30.
>>
>> Really? Then there must have been a historically unprecedented baby boom in 
>> Iran for 15 years after the Islamic revolution, Iranians must have virtually 
>> stopped having children after that period, and all those youth must have 
>> moved to the cities! Oh, and there was, presumably, a massive die-off (or 
>> emigration) of people born before 1978!
>
>Did you even notice the word "urbanites" ??? No, I guess.
>
>Migration of older teenagers and young adults looking for work from
>villages to cities, would explain this perfectly.

I'm sorry to have to be ruthless myself, but I'm not the one who needs reading 
lessons. The sentence I quoted and refuted does NOT say:

* Two-thirds of Iran's urbanites consists of youths between the ages of 15 and 
30.

which is also almost certainly false, but less so. Nor does it say:

* Two thirds of Iran's population between the ages of 15 and 30 are urbanites.

which may be true.

What it does mean, according to my understanding of the English language, is 
that two thirds of Iran's total population consists of people who are both 
urbanites and between the ages of 15 and 30.

 - Aaron

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