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I have always been fascinated with paradoxes. For those who don't know - a paradox is basically a logical statement that seems to prove something intuitively absurd or obviously untrue.

To start this thread I will use one of Zeno's paradoxes. This is one of the first paradoxes I encountered, and I puzzled over it for a long time. Basically the paradox says that motion is impossible. Zeno reasons for example that if a runner wants to run a mile, he must first run 1/2 mile. Before he can do this though he must first run 1/4 mile, and 1/8 mile, and so on so that if distance is infinitely divisible the runner can never cover and distance because there will always be a smaller distance he must travel first.

Here is a Wikipedia link to a more complete description of the paradoxes, as well as their proposed solutions. Zenos Paradoxes Try to figure it out first though. It's fun!

Both those Paradoxes are intresting!
I shall have to look up some for myself.

Actually, this one has been long since disproven. The nikkle nuts doing the calculations were trying to apply the same aerodynamics to the bee that you would to a plane. They forgot something crucial: the bumblebee flaps its wings.

If you want to have peace you have to be prepared for war.

You can't have freedom without control.

A liar saying everyone is a liar.

stare I was taught that too, but things change dramatically as knowledge expands and more info is filled in the database, you know!

Here's a good one! According to Darwin's theory, no two similar beings can develop exactly the same way despite treating them exactly the same way, even the same give and take. Also, the chances of lightning striking at the very same spot is veeeerrrryyyyyyyyy low (if you remember the chance thread). Everything in nature is supposed to be atleast slightly different from each other. xd And yet, EVERYTHING in nature has a perfect quotient of 1.618. 3nodding lol



lol That is some paradox you've got there! Although I would call them highly contradicting, rofl except the first two, that is. Here's one. Scientifically proven, magic is impossible. lol And yet, Jesus making miracles is that are scientifically impossible are said to be true, and also Mosis waving his staff making the waves to move different directions.

And yes, something you people may have never noticed, but I did. Remember the old Alternate angle theorem? When a transversal intersects two parallel lines? Take a look! If the transversal is straight (perpendicular) to the parallel lines, the interior angles would be 90 degrees. If the transversal is tilted, the interior angles could be more or less than 90 degrees. lol Tilt more, and it'l go even more less or more. However, there is NO interior angle with 0 or 180 degrees. xd If you think now it'l sound very obvious and childish -.-" but I'm positive only a handful of people must have noticed this.

Another one. When a line is perpendicular it is 90 degrees. In mathematics, any number below 0.5 is always considered to be negligible. Example, 1.3 is always considered to be 1 (in a great amount, not minor calculations). Suppose I take a perpendicular direction to planet Pluto. If I shift the perpendicular to, say, 90.3 degrees, even this slight change (which makes no difference) would this time point at some other new planet. mrgreen And since this kind of change is hardly noticeable, there is a very low chance of getting an actual perpendicular!!

Those are good. Here is one that is not technically a paradox, but lot's of fun. I found it on Wikipedia.

The prisoner's dilemma is a type of non-zero-sum game in which two players may each "cooperate" with or "defect" (i.e. betray) the other player. In this game the only concern of each individual player ("prisoner") is maximizing his/her own payoff, without any concern for the other player's payoff. The classical prisoner's dilemma is as follows:

Two suspects, A and B, are arrested by the police. The police have insufficient evidence for a conviction, and, having separated both prisoners, visit each of them to offer the same deal: if one testifies for the prosecution against the other and the other remains silent, the betrayer goes free and the silent accomplice receives the full 10-year sentence. If both stay silent, both prisoners are sentenced to only six months in jail for a minor charge. If each betrays the other, each receives a five-year sentence. Each prisoner must make the choice of whether to betray the other or to remain silent. However, neither prisoner knows for sure what choice the other prisoner will make. So this dilemma poses the question: How should the prisoners act?

The paradox is that each prisoner, in trying to go free, will betray the other, and they both get five year sentences. Neither will risk staying silent (hoping that the other will do the same) to try and get the six month sentence for both. Thus by trying to get less sentence time for themselves, each prisoner actually ensures they get more.

Read in full: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisoner's_dilemma

Most time travel theories think one of two things will happen if time is to not collapse in on itself, you will somehow be born regardless of his death{a la Fry from Futurama}, or something will continually prevent his death.

There is also the Back to the Future 2 theory, that says that when you time travel it actually involves paraellel universe. So if you travel back in time and kill your grandfather, you really killed him in another dimension. But he is not killed in your dimension. But I don't really think it works that way.