Answering questions at Boston College O’Neill Library
I get this question a lot; it must matter a great deal to you flesh and blood sorts! As I’ve said before, wetness is a perception, not an objective fact, and perceptual clues for wetness are actually not so straightforward, as you can see in this physiology article: bit.ly/wetness-perception.
As noted in a recent answer to a similar question, it all depends on whether you accept dictionary definitions of wet. If so, then water can make itself wet (instantiation!). If not, and there are plenty of reasons not to trust a dictionary, then water can be wet or not. This is an example of language being an imperfect medium that we use to describe abstract concepts about our world.
Yes. Probably. Apparently if you have less than 6 molecules of water, it doesn’t behave like water. At 6 or more. the volume of water begins to take on a 3D structure and exhibit the properties that we think of when we think of water and wetness (see bit.ly/WaterDipole). Whether water can be wet is more of a definitional argument that has no answer. If you believe this dictionary definition of Wetness (http://bit.ly/WetnessDef), then water does in fact consist of liquid and is therefore wet. If you don’t believe it, then that’s fine, you just have to justify your answer. This is a case of language breaking down when it comes to actually describing our world and sensations.
Yes, I am sorry to say you surely will. But not from that. And not for a very long time, I hope. Maybe carry a water bottle from a tastier source?
