If you can find a solution it’s no longer a paradox. Paradoxes are defined† as un-answerable. Whoever created the paradox made a mistake and merely created something that looks like a paradox.
“Paradox” is just a word. There is nothing special about something being a paradox (except that paradoxes are cool to think about).
†That’s at least a common definition. That’s where I’m getting such crazy ideas like “paradoxes have no answer.” You are free to define “paradox” some other way. Be assured that it was never my intention to claim that the definition I used is in some sense the true definition. Definitions are all about communication (you need to agree on definitions in order to be able to talk to each other), not tools for finding the truth.
"Mistake" means there is a "right answer", a point of reference. What is that? Otherwise, your use of the concept "mistake" doesn't make sense.
> Paradoxes are defined as un-answerable
Yeah, of course we can define things ad-nauseam. That doesn't just make "reality" any more "real", it just helps us send men on the Moon, curing diseases or building atomic bombs.
> It’s a paradox.
You take as a given that paradoxes are or at least should be "un-answerable". This Wikipedia page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liar_paradox#Possible_resolutio...) mentions a list of guys that tried to answer it, but anyway, this problem is way over my head, I should go back to writing Drupal modules before I also start rambling about Solipsism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solipsism#Gorgias_.28of_Leontin...) :)
If you can find a solution it’s no longer a paradox. Paradoxes are defined† as un-answerable. Whoever created the paradox made a mistake and merely created something that looks like a paradox.
“Paradox” is just a word. There is nothing special about something being a paradox (except that paradoxes are cool to think about).
†That’s at least a common definition. That’s where I’m getting such crazy ideas like “paradoxes have no answer.” You are free to define “paradox” some other way. Be assured that it was never my intention to claim that the definition I used is in some sense the true definition. Definitions are all about communication (you need to agree on definitions in order to be able to talk to each other), not tools for finding the truth.
> Whoever created the paradox made a mistake
"Mistake" means there is a "right answer", a point of reference. What is that? Otherwise, your use of the concept "mistake" doesn't make sense.
> Paradoxes are defined as un-answerable
Yeah, of course we can define things ad-nauseam. That doesn't just make "reality" any more "real", it just helps us send men on the Moon, curing diseases or building atomic bombs.
1 reply →