Right, an ace & jack could be 21 or it could be 11. There are times (very rare) in tournament play that you might want to hit (actually double down) on a 21, depending on what your opponents are doing. So it can pay not to narrow your frame of reference to the point that 21 is always the best you can do. Similarly I wouldn't narrow my frame of reference here to assume the symbol of one boot = 1/2 of the symbol for two boots, without any other definitive knowledge.
In any case, it's been a while since we've had a good argument around here. Back in the day we'd have arguments that went on for pages and pages, but that settled down quite a bit when benbo drifted away. So ptato, I applaud you for livening things up here!