Logic students who are first learning about categorical statements may mistakenly think that any I statement, Some S is P, necessarily implies the O statement, Some S is not P. This is a reasonable error, since it seems to accord with our common use. For example, if I say “Some astronauts are men,” it is reasonable for you to think I also believe that some astronauts are not men.

But this is not always the case. Statements of the form Some S is P logically allow for the possibility that All S is P. When a theology student first learns that some books of the Old Testament speak about Jesus, he may not be surprised to later discover that all books of the Old Testament speak about Jesus (Luke 24:27). Or when a physics student first learns that some forms of usable energy end up as thermal energy, she is well on her way to acknowledging that eventually all usable energy ends up as thermal energy. Astronomers once knew only that some gas giants in the solar system are ringed planets (e.g. Saturn). They eventually discovered that all gas giants in the solar system are ringed planets.

These examples show that Some S is P does not necessarily imply that Some S is not P. Everyone would agree that “Some songs are poems” is a true statement, but it is reasonable still to argue that “All songs are poems.”