Nicholas Welt is the English professor who features in Harry
Kemelman’s 1947 collection of fascinating short stories, The Nine Mile Walk.
"An inference can be logical and still not be true...Give me any sentence of ten or twelve words," he said, "and I'll build you a logical chain of inferences that you never dreamed of when you framed the sentence." Nicholas Welt in The Nine Mile Walk by Harry Kemelman.
And so, he uses inductive reasoning and logic to delve into the cryptic line: "A nine mile walk is no joke, especially in the rain."
The story
inspired director Alvaro Brechner’s 2003 award winning film of the same name
(watch Part 1 of 2 above). You can also watch the film in two parts here: Part 1 and Part2.
"I was teaching a class in advanced composition and trying to show my students that words do not exist in vacuo but have meanings that can transcend their usual connotations, that even short combinations can permit a wide variety of interpretations." Kemelman
A must read for anyone interested in words, writing, logic and reasoning.
