Paradoxes

What is a Paradox ?

It is simply a statement that contradicts itself, it can sometimes

be described as an endless loop, e.g. :
“ The more you learn, the more you realize how little you
know ”

There are 3 newly defined types of paradoxes

 1st: Veridical Paradox
 Packs a surprise, but the surprise quickly dissipates itself as we uncover the truth.
The best example is the Monty Hall Paradox :

1: Money 2: Empty 3: Empty

 66.666…%

1: Money 2: Empty 3: Empty

33.333…% 33.333…% 33.333…%

 2nd: Falsidical Paradox
 A result that appears to be false and is in fact false due to a flaw in the demonstration
To demonstrate, lets take an arrow travelling towards a target. In order to reach the target, it must
travel half the distance. And when it reaches half the distance, it also must travel half of the
remaining distance, …………………, leading to a conclusion that the arrow will never reach the target.
The thing is we know that the arrow does reach the target. However at the time the paradox was
suggested, there was not enough mathematical advancement to prove it.
In this case, the paradox seems to be absurd and false since we know what happens, and it is
actually false.
 3rd: Antinomies

 An antinomy is a contradiction between equally well-based assumptions or conclusions

This is the most interesting of the 3 types, and a very famous example is the Grandfather Paradox.
 What do we benefit from them ?

Approaching a paradox tackles our underlying

assumptions surrounding problems and enhances
our problem solving and decision-making skills.
 THE FLETCHER’S PARADOX
Imagine a fletcher (arrow-maker) has fired one of his arrows into the air. For the arrow to be considered
to be moving, it has to be continually repositioning itself from the place where it is now to any place
where it currently isn’t. The Fletcher’s Paradox, however, states that throughout its trajectory the arrow
is actually not moving. At any given instant of no real duration during its flight, the arrow cannot move
to somewhere it isn’t because there isn’t time for it to do so. And it can’t move to where it is now,
because it’s already there. So, for that instant in time, the arrow must be stationary. But because all time
is comprised entirely of instants—in every one of which the arrow must also be stationary—then the
arrow must in fact be stationary the entire time. Except, of course, it isn’t.

Falsidical
 THE BOY OR GIRL PARADOX
Imagine that a family has two children, one of whom we know to be a boy. What then is the probability
that the other child is a boy? The obvious answer is to say that the probability is 1/2, and the chances of
a baby being born a boy or a girl are essentially equal. In a two-child family, however, there are actually
four possible combinations of children: two boys (MM), two girls (FF), an older boy and a younger girl
(MF), and an older girl and a younger boy (FM). We already know that one of the children is a boy,
meaning we can eliminate the combination FF, but that leaves us with three equally possible
combinations of children in which at least one is a boy—namely MM, MF, and FM. This means that the
probability that the other child is a boy—MM—must be 1/3, not 1/2.

Veridica
l
I am lying
Thanks for
listening