> Something else that bothered me for awhile was a sign in my middle school's band room.
> It read, "Early is on time and on time is late!" encouraging us not to be late to class, I suppose.
> What got me is that by thinking in this manner, no matter what you did, you were late.
> In a semi-mathematical format:
>
> Early = On Time
> On Time = Late
> (Therefore) Early = Late
> And obviously, Late = Late.

Ah, a confusion between the object and the symbol.

One of the "on time"s in the saying is just a label, and the other is the real thing.

A clearer representation would be:
"'Early' is on time, and 'on time' is late."


Pa"yes, I'm studying Philosophy -- why do you ask?"ul