Does everything have an opposite?

[The AlphaOmega]

I believe so too.  I would challenge anyone to find something that doesn't.  Not necissarily an object... you know, what's the opposite of a chair (although I suppose you could just say no chair)?  Can anyone think of one?

[Nagual]

What about time?
You could go back in time maybe, but can you reverse times direction?

[The AlphaOmega]

Is there a place with no time?

[lullabi]

What's the opposite of opposite?

[Ceriel N]

What is light, if not compared to darkness?
What is heat, if not compared to cold?
What is moisture, if not compared to dryness?
What is softness, if not compared to hardness?

[]

[lullabi]

True. Hey, I just realised this is my 101th post! That's
the first time I ever got to over 100 on any forum. Wow.

[Risu no Kairu]

quote:Originally posted by lullabi

What's the opposite of opposite?

Being the same.

I don't think the Slinky has an opposite, though. Nothing could equal and reverse the awesomeness that is Slinky.

[beavis]

ZERO doesnt have an opposite.

Some people would say its infinity, but that isnt so because negative infinity is the opposite of infinity, and negative infinity is equally valid as an opposite of zero as infinity is. The opposite of an opposite must be the same as the original.

The opposite of ZERO (nothing) is not something because "something" includes white and black, which are opposites.

[The AlphaOmega]

Any number would be the opposite of zero.  Zero is nothing, so the opposite would be something, like 1, or 2.

[fireprooflighter]

The opposites of 1 and 2 are -1 and -2. So they can't be the opposites of zero.

[RooJ]

fireprooflighter: The opposites of 1 and 2 are -1 and -2. So they can't be the opposites of zero.

I disagree the opposite of 0 can be 1.

I hate this type of thing because it always makes me rant. ahh well here goes.
My answer:
I think everything can have an opposite, but the catch is many things have more than one opposite.
the rant:
It all depends on the way you look at things and which dictionary example of opposite you use. e.g. in binary the opposite of 0 is 1 and vice versa, in many instances this can also be true such as when 0 and 1 are used to represent off and on in things like light switches.. but the opposite of 1 can also be -1 when looking from the perspective of normal numeracy.

We get taught in school that the opposite of light is dark but if you put it in the perspective of day being light and night being dark then darkness is just an absence of light. can you say that light is the absence of dark? well not really because if you could somehow move darkness it wouldnt reveal light because light is "something" (photons) and darkness is "nothing" or no photons. so is something opposite to nothing? ill use beavis's example:

beavis: The opposite of ZERO (nothing) is not something because "something" includes white and black, which are opposites.

so is light actually opposite to darkness? well according to the dictionary yeah.
one of the dictionary entries:
"opposite: Altogether different, as in nature, quality, or significance: "

lets say we follow the absence trend anyway then the opposite of your right arm would be no right arm and the opposite of north could be any direction aslong as its not north(i think :S).
So we have given a name to the absence of something and then declared that as the opposite. In this case everything will have an opposite. Ok so whats the opposite of gravity? anti-gravity or no gravity?. the answer is both because both meet the requirements in the dictionary lol.
What if scientists find some new energy equivelant to anti-light? (and for the record i want an anti-light torch).

Conclusion:

If light is the opposite of darkness from the perspective of day and night then everything has an opposite . And many times an opposite heavily depends on the perspective you view it from.

[fireprooflighter]

The opposite of 0 cannot be one. One's opposite is -1. And 1 cannot have two opposites. Is there anything that has two opposites? Not that I can think of.

[beavis]

The opposite of a specific photon (light) is a photon with the same location and direction but opposite wave phase. When 2 opposites are added, the total must be nothing. Perspective uses an artificial zero/nothing, so when things that are falsely perceived to be opposites are added, the result is nonzero, but it makes sense from the perception. Some people say light and dark are opposites because the average brightness in their experience is between them.

[RooJ]

As i said in the previous post i think it depends on perspective. with a dictionary entry of "Altogether different, as in nature, quality, or significance:" then when viewed from the perspective of binary couldnt 1 and 0 be said to be opposite?

[beavis]

From an other perspective, the dictionary is only a random collection of letters with no coherant meaning. So lets leave perspective out when possible (example: the opposite of light in my previous post).

That definition allows too much similarity between opposites. It says...

a low quality blue chair made in China with exactly 47 screws that weighs 9.71 pounds

...is the opposite of...

a high quality blue chair made in China with exactly 47 screws that weighs 9.71 pounds

...because "quality, OR"

[RooJ]

Yeah agreed ill leave it out . ive just read that apparently the opposite of zero is zero.. although i do believe it came from an insane mind:

http://www.jigsawlounge.co.uk/realtruth/logic.html

[beavis]

0 is the closest thing to 0's opposite, but an opposite cant be the same thing. 0 has no opposite.

[darkangel13]

well, what exactly is zero? yes, it is a number, but it also represents nothingness.  so looking at it as representing nothingness, anything could be the opposite of zero.  anything that is something
      -Kristina

[Zan]

If you look at zero as nothing then everything would be its opposite.
If you look at zero as the result of two opposites canceling eachother out then anything that isn't cancelled out would be its opposite.
If you look at zero from a strictly mathematic point of view then you actually have two zero's a negative one and a positive one. They are eachothers opposites.
If ...

Leave perspective out of it you say. Hard to do when it is all about perspective. Things can and are looked at in different ways and a vague concept as opposite can be discussed forever. You 'll always find something that could be an opposite. Who can tell if everything has an opposite or not if you haven't even defined the concept of opposite. Most things I 've seen here mentioned as the opposite of something just seem to be something different. The only few examples of actual opposites I have seen mentioned are those along the lines of gravity vs anti-gravity ... light vs anti-light. Here is of course the question what is anti-gravity? Isn't it just gravity in the opposite direction? And if they are both gravity they are actually the same.

I believe everything has an opposite in at least one of its many perspectives.

[darkangel13]

good point, Zan[|)]

[Jon_88]

LOL Antigravity , could be much rocket fuel igniting .

Anyway there may be something that doesnt have a opposite(well unless absolute nothingness is valid) , its probably some underlying force that reality is based on , wich without no reality would be.

In  christian Religion God has no opposite , since he cannot be unmade AND made all (including the devil for those who also might belive in him). In hindu/budism  there is the wheel of life (and all other religion where there is after life) BEING have no opposite. Even Nirvane there is somebeing. Since it was achived and if you are not being you have achived nothing(well my oppinion).Since the opposite has in some way to reflect the other opposite(but it is still my oppinion).  

So while its true that in binery 0 is opposite to 1 its not cause its 0 but the only other state there is ,one might call it  more acurate true and false. Infact in electrical circuits there is the NOT CONNECTED state wich is often used (physical switching) this reflects true 0 better than the 0 state, and its not equvelent of 1 or 0 and is popular known as the 3rd state(guess 0 was taken by another state[]).If Not connected WAS opposite to 1 or 0 its given implesitt(sorry if misspelled) that its the SAME as the one its not opposite off .Hence one should be able to remove 1 or 0 without loosing any performance or abilitys in the circuit(wich one cannot).  

So i guess im advocating the though that 0 isnt valid as somethings opposite.And therefore it should be something without opposition.

[beavis]

If your point of reference is 20, then 15 is the opposite of 25. Average the opposites to get your point of reference. That is what an opposite is. Since we are dealing with numbers, the obvious point of reference is 0, and 0 has no opposite (-0 doesnt count).

[Hiebreed]

Does everything have an opposite? I believe so.

[Nexmofo]

*I* have no opposite.

[Nostic]

LOL, this is a logic game that's fairly pointless to argue. It all depends on your perspective. Arguments about this will only go in circles.