Mathematical term for "opposite" in this context?

Question

A friend wanted to play a game where we would roll a die, and if it landed even then the wish would come true, but if it landed odd then the opposite of the wish would come true. So let's say I have five dollars and my wish is to gain five dollars.

I know the negation of gaining five dollars is not gaining five dollars. But that is not the 'opposite' of my wish in this context. The opposite would be losing five dollars. What is the operation called that's being applied to "gaining five dollars" such that it becomes "losing five dollars"?

Hmmm... I don't think there is a symbol in symbolic logic for the "opposite", since this concept can get a bit sticky when talking about non-numerical things. — Franklin Pezzuti Dyer, May 23 '17 at 23:26
There's no meaningful notion of the opposite of a thing happening. Suppose you wish for a red cube. What's the opposite of that? Losing a red cube? What if you don't have one? — Qiaochu Yuan, May 23 '17 at 23:35
Well I meant to include the premise that I have five dollars, so to make it an equal analogy we should include the premise that I have a red cube. — Veqen, May 23 '17 at 23:47

score -1 · Answer 1 · answered May 24 '17 at 00:32

-1

Change the rules of the game. The game costs \$5 to play and you can gain $10 by winning.

answered May 24 '17 at 00:32

orlp

10,508

Mathematical term for "opposite" in this context?

1 Answers1