12 Quick Paradoxes to Confuse and Unsettle You
012 Quick Paradoxes to Confuse and Unsettle You
Card paradox
The statement below is true
The statement above is false
Ignore all rules paradox
I will give you just one rule – Do not follow this rule or any other rules
The Pinocchio paradox
Pinocchio’s nose only grows when he lies
What happens if Pinocchio says ‘My nose will grow now’?
Fredkin’s paradox
The more similar two choices are, the more time we spend deciding between them
Sentence paradox
This sentence contains two mistake
(The first mistake is that the word mistake should be plural; the second mistake is that there is no second mistake)
Buridan’s bridge paradox
I say: ‘If your next statement is true, I will allow you to cross this bridge, but if it is false I will throw you in the water’
You say: ‘You will throw me in the water’
Socratic paradox
I know that I know nothing
Interesting number paradox
The first number (or any item in an ordered list) that can be described as uninteresting becomes interesting because of this fact
(Extra note – Many numbers can be described as interesting, for example 6 is the first perfect number (it is equal to the sum of its positive divisors: 1+2+3=6), and 14233221 describes itself; it has one 4, two 3s, three 2s, and two 1s)
Blank page paradox
This slide is intentionally left blank
Paradox of the Court
A teacher pays a law student’s tuition on the basis that she only has to pay it back when she wins her first case
The student drops out near the end of the course and the teacher sues her for the cost of tuition
She represents herself in court. What happens if she wins the case? What happens if she loses the case?
The Barber paradox
A man is appointed as the sole barber of an island where local law requires all men to shave their beards if they are capable of doing so
The barber is only allowed to shave those men who do not shave themselves
The barber is an upstanding citizen who follows the law to the letter – also, he does not leave the island
Does he shave his own beard?
Many paradoxes don’t live up to close scrutiny, mostly for the reason that one or more assumptions about the paradox are incorrect
For example…
The Buttered cat paradox
A cat always lands on its feet
Buttered toast always lands butter side down
What happens if you strap toast, butter side up, to a cat’s back and then drop
the cat?
Photo:
Light Inside Chest Box by David Bartus, courtesy of Pexels
Music:
Ferris Wheel by Geographer
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