Since Crusoe's actions consist of choices among alternatives, they enable us to measure his values only in relative or comparative terms. The value scale therefore represents ordinal, not cardinal measurement (p. 1.3:17). It tells us that the completing the tree house ranks higher in utility than hunting for food, but does not permit us to quantify the difference with a specific cardinal number. We have no objective basis for defining addition, subtraction, and similar operations on praxeological values, and any attempt to define such arithmetic relationships is purely arbitrary, subjective, and unscientific. Claims about "ratios" among utilities, for instance, belong to the category of meaningless statements, e. g., "the borogroves were all mimsy" (see pp. 1.3:70-1).