[dropcap size=small]P[/dropcap]aradoxes are found in every field from Peometry to physics or from Economics to Philosophy. [highlight color=#3C5A93 ]A paradox is a statement that contradicts itself. It can be apparently true or false at the same time.[/highlight] Paradoxes have been around us since ancient times. There is always a flaw in every paradox which shows that either the paradox is built upon a flawed logic or whatever seems to be impossible is actually possible.
Here are 5 of the most mind-boggling paradoxes that will twist your brain :
[button color=”red” size=”big” alignment=”center” rel=”nofollow” openin=”samewindow” ]1. Ship of Theseus[/button]
Ship of Theseus, also known as Theseus Paradox is a classical paradox which is a philosophical puzzle about personal identity. A simpler version of paradox is :
Imagine you start your journey in a wooden ship named Ship of Theseus. The ship is made up of hundred pieces of wood and you decide to remove one piece of wood everyday and replace it with a newer one. The older pieces of the wood were used to build another ship. After hundred days, you have 2 ships but the paradox is that which one is the Ship Of Theseus. [highlight color=#D62F2F ]They both can’t be The Ship of Theseus, but it could be true that they both are not the Ship of Theseus.[/highlight]
[button color=”green” size=”big” alignment=”center” rel=”nofollow” openin=”samewindow” ]2. Bootstrap Paradox[/button]
Bootstrap Paradox is a paradox of time travel. This paradox occurs when an object or a piece of information is sent back in time, resulting in a closed loop.
Imagine a time traveller buys a copy of the book Romeo and Juliet and then travels back in time, handing over that book to William Shakespeare who then copies this book to claim that this is his creation. Now that book will be reprinted thousands of times until a copy of that ends up at the bookstore, from where the divide time traveller buys it.
The paradox arises that [highlight color=#1A9F3C ]”Who wrote Romeo and Juliet? “[/highlight].
[button color=”blue” size=”big” alignment=”center” rel=”nofollow” openin=”samewindow” ]3. Barber’s Paradox[/button]
Barber’s paradox was discovered during the beginning of 20th century by Mathematician, Philosopher and Conscientious Objector, Bertrand Russell. The paradox can be explained by the situation that, if there is only one barber in town and he has a condition that he only shaves the men who do not shave themselves. The question here is : [highlight color=#263852 ]”Does the barber shaves himself?”[/highlight] If he does, he violates the condition that he only shaves those who do not shave themselves. If he doesn’t, then he must because he shaves those who do not shave themselves.
At first, this paradox seems kinda simple and you think you can find a way out but, some things are not as simple as they look.
[button color=”black” size=”big” alignment=”center” rel=”nofollow” openin=”samewindow” ]4. Omnipotence Paradox[/button]
“Can God make a rock so heavy that even he cannot lift it?”
God is thought to have infinite powers. He created us, our earth, the whole universe. If we ask the above question, we can get only two answers :
[highlight color=#1A1A1A ]If yes: God’s power is limited because he cannot lift that rock.[/highlight]
[highlight color=#1A1A1A ]If no: God’s power is limited because he cannot create that rock.[/highlight]
[button color=”brown” size=”big” alignment=”center” rel=”nofollow” openin=”samewindow” ]5. The Fletcher’s Paradox[/button]
Also known as Arrow Paradox; Fletcher’s paradox is a part of philosophical problems given by Greek philosopher Zeno of Elea.
For a motion to occur, an object must change its position. A fletcher fires one of his arrows and if we observe the motion of the arrow at any instant, the arrow seems still i.e. there is no motion. Similarly, at every instant there is no motion occuring. [highlight color=#975021 ]If at every instant of time, arrow is motionless and time is made up of instants, then motion of arrow is impossible.[/highlight]
