“I don’t think ANYONE has claimed that Calvin has any magic power. It is the cardboard box that some readers claim has the power to create duplicates and also to take Calvin and Hobbes back and forth in time”
That’s a meaningless distinction. The “magic cardboard box” is BUILT by Calvin (the word “built” is used very loosely. All he does is write words and symbols on plain cardboard). Once again, logic AND reality bite your “other readers” (actually, you). If Calvin could “really” use the “magic” cardboard box to travel back in time, he could make it perpetually Saturday, meaning he would never have to go to school. He could escape being baby sat by Rosalyn, etc. If he could “really” create duplicates, he could create spending money or anything else out of nothing. Etc, etc. But, of course, he’s only imagining what the cardboard box can do. He imagined a mature version of himself, just as he imagines what Hobbes is.
“A six-year-old boy and his imagination-fuelled stuffed tiger alone on a boat!” I don’t think so. They must be imagining it”.
“IF it is a fantasy, it is certainly an abnormal one.”
I’ll simply copy and paste my previous response:
The word “if” does not appear anywhere in the quote. Watterson uses the word “is”, not “if”.
And don’t try to claim “would” means “if”. The usage of the word “would” fits this definition:
Would
Verb
—used in auxiliary function to express plan or intention
Example: said we would come
So he was saying that the intention was for the complexity of the fantasy to transcend that of a normal fantasy. The “it’s abnormal, so it can’t be a fantasy” claim is utter nonsense. Any fantasy can be as abnormal as one wishes it to be by definition, BECAUSE IT’S a FANTASY.
“This fits in with Watterson’s later explanation, “Calvin sees Hobbes one way. Everyone else sees him another way.”
Yet again, the washing machine strips DISPROVE the “it’s all about subjective perception” claim. The washing machine can perceive NOTHING, since it’s inanimate. It can only hold what is OBJECTIVELY small enough to fit in it. Hobbes must therefore OBJECTIVELY be the size of a doll. You’ve even finally conceded Calvin imagining a five foot Hobbes in the tub.
“You keep ignoring a point that I am making just because you don’t like it. I keep reminding you that Calvin has seen Hobbes inside the washing machine.”
Once again, you are blatantly saying what you know to be untrue. I’ve responded to your point multiple times, including as recently as two days ago. I’ll simply copy and paste the false syllogism that I’ve pointed out you use, and which you constantly and deliberately ignore:
Calvinist1966 premise: Anything and everything Calvin sees must be real and possible
Calvin sees a five foot Hobbes in the washing machine
Calvinist1966’s false conclusion: Therefore, Calvin seeing a five foot Hobbes in the washing machine must be real and possible.
THE PREMISE THAT YOUR ENTIRE “PROOF” RESTS ON IS FALSE. IT’S EASILY DISPROVED:
Calvin saw himself as the size of an insect or a galaxy. Calvin saw himself going to Mars in a toy wagon with no enclosure and no spacesuit. Calvin saw himself flying. Calvin saw himself as a 2D being. etc etc ad infinitum.
All those things are physically impossible. Not even you would be pathetically stupid enough to claim they are possible. Therefore, your premise is false. CALVIN MUST BE IMAGINING THE UNREALITY OF A FIVE FOOT HOBBES IN THE TUB, JUST AS HE IMAGINES THE UNREALITY OF HIMSELF GOING TO MARS IN A TOY WAGON, FLYING, ETC. The true, REAL size of Hobbes MUST be that of a DOLL.
“We both agree that the washing machine is real. Calvin has looked inside the washing machine and seen Hobbes inside a tub. Therefore he has seen Hobbes in the tub – whether with his imagination or with his eyes”
AHA!! YOU FINALLY CONCEDE CALVIN IMAGINING A FIVE FOOT HOBBES FITTING IN THE WASHING MACHINE.
Calvin WAS an extremely scared, mournful, sorrowful little boy when he couldn’t find Hobbes. He thinks of the world as “right” now that he has his stuffed toy back.
“I don’t think ANYONE has claimed that Calvin has any magic power. It is the cardboard box that some readers claim has the power to create duplicates and also to take Calvin and Hobbes back and forth in time”
That’s a meaningless distinction. The “magic cardboard box” is BUILT by Calvin (the word “built” is used very loosely. All he does is write words and symbols on plain cardboard). Once again, logic AND reality bite your “other readers” (actually, you). If Calvin could “really” use the “magic” cardboard box to travel back in time, he could make it perpetually Saturday, meaning he would never have to go to school. He could escape being baby sat by Rosalyn, etc. If he could “really” create duplicates, he could create spending money or anything else out of nothing. Etc, etc. But, of course, he’s only imagining what the cardboard box can do. He imagined a mature version of himself, just as he imagines what Hobbes is.
“A six-year-old boy and his imagination-fuelled stuffed tiger alone on a boat!” I don’t think so. They must be imagining it”.
“They”?? No, CALVIN.