Paradoxes -

[DevilDog]

One thing that always messes with me is a good paradox. I just learned about Zeno's Paradox anyone have thoughts on that?
Here's another one:In a certain town, there is a barber who shaves every man who does not shave himself. Who shaves the barber? (and no, the barber is NOT a woman/transvestite/tomgirl)

 

[champthom]

One thing that always messes with me is a good paradox. I just learned about Zeno's Paradox anyone have thoughts on that?
Here's another one:In a certain town, there is a barber who shaves every man who does not shave himself. Who shaves the barber? (and no, the barber is NOT a woman/transvestite/tomgirl)

There's a way to prove this with discrete mathematics but I did awful in that course, so I don't recall it. I believe there's a similar method to prove there are at least three people in NYC.

Here's one of my favorite ones - the Ship of Theseus problem. There's this ship, but over time, every component has been replaced - is it still the same ship? There's an alternate version of this called "grandfather's axe" which poses the question - if grandfather's axe has had the axe head replaced 12 times and the handle 13 times, is it still grandfather's axe?

 

[DevilDog]

I guess I'd say that you've effectively replaced the ship :b but I'm no physicist. I also find it interesting that matter in black holes can continue to shrink indefinitely.

 

[cypocraphy]

Not sure if this counts...but can God make a rock so heavy that he can't lift it?

 

[Trombonista]

Not sure if this counts...but can God make a rock so heavy that he can't lift it?

My answer to that is always "Why would he want to?"

 

[DevilDog]

Not sure if this counts...but can God make a rock so heavy that he can't lift it?

I heard a sermon about this, I probably should have been listening :b...but I was twelve...and I wanted to draw TIE fighters

 

[renomakicwc]

I never heard of this type of riddle before.

.. It makes my brain hurt.

 

[Bugaboo]

Well, the ship is still the same ship because the parts are added one by one to the original shIp.
And the axe is still grandfather's axe because he owns it.

 

[Dark Mirror Hole]

One thing that always messes with me is a good paradox. I just learned about Zeno's Paradox anyone have thoughts on that?
Here's another one:In a certain town, there is a barber who shaves every man who does not shave himself. Who shaves the barber? (and no, the barber is NOT a woman/transvestite/tomgirl)

The barber could probably shave himself. Or he'd get a person who knows how to shave to shave him instead.

 

[DevilDog]

But he only shaves people who don't shave themselves

 

[Smokedaddy]

Über formal unentenscheidbare Sätze der Cwcki fora und verwandter Systeme

(or: "YIELDS FALSEHOOD WHEN PRECEDED BY ITS QUOTATION")

Any language, mathematics, or symbolic system in general powerful enough to describe itself can never be free of paradox.

 

[Zap Rowsdower]

Take a pencil near you and hold it out in front of you. Then drop it. What happens?

Logically, the pencil will fall. It will cover half the distance from your hand to the floor. And it will do it again. And again. You can continue to half the distance between the pencil and the floor. Therefore, the pencil will never hit the floor.

But it does.

 

[Smokedaddy]

Take a pencil near you and hold it out in front of you. Then drop it. What happens?

Logically, the pencil will fall. It will cover half the distance from your hand to the floor. And it will do it again. And again. You can continue to half the distance between the pencil and the floor. Therefore, the pencil will never hit the floor.

But it does.

An odd restatement of Zeno's paradox, but we'll run with it.

Logically, yes -- but physically, no. In our reality, there is a shortest possible distance (that can't be halved) and a shortest possible time (likewise).

 

[random_pickle]

Fellow Christorians, your mission, is to not follow this mission.

Also, this sentence is false.

 

[Bob's Fries]

Schroedinger's Cat. Nuff said.

 

[champthom]

Fellow Christorians, your mission, is to not follow this mission.

Also, this sentence is false.

There's a similar problem, I forget how it's worded but it's one of those "The following statement is true/The preceding statement is false" type of problems that can be solved with Discrete Mathematics but like I said, I did awful in the course do I don't remember.

 

[spaps]

Also, this sentence is false.

Uhh, true. A good true. That was easy.

 

[Smokedaddy]

How is Scheoedinger's cat a paradox? I am keen to know.

 

[Bob's Fries]

How is Scheoedinger's cat a paradox? I am keen to know.

I don't know. I just wanted to contribute!

Edit: Then again, you can't have a cat that's both alive and dead. Can you?

 

[Male]