9 out of 10 were written by a single author
Does anyone else see a problem with these two statements being simultaneously true?
Does anyone else see a problem with these two statements being simultaneously true?
No.
The statement "8 out of 10 were written by men" could does not specify how many men were involved in the writing. It could mean that eight of the ten books were written by committees consisting entirely of men (or even by committees having at least one male member).
Likewise, the statement "9 out of 10 were written by a single author" could mean that a single individual is the sole author of nine of the books - or that nine of the books were written, not by committees, but rather by individual persons.
In short: The statements are ambiguous to begin with.
Regards,