paradox?

[jamey2k9]

I hear quite a bit about paradoxses but I dont know what they are if anyone would care to explain it would be appreciated

[iNow]

The wiki article certainly answers your question more fully than we could. Read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradox

 

If you have a specific paradox in mind, or a specific question, then you should specify that for additional help.

[granpa]

if one accepts that a vtatement can be either true, false, unknown, or unknowable then paradoxes are simply 'unknowables'. the prisoner in the unexpected hanging paradox can never know which day is the last day that he can be hanged on.

 

The unexpected hanging paradox asserts that, even though the prisoner knows that there exist certain days that he can be hanged on and he knows that there exists at least one day that he cant be hanged on, he cannot possibly know which day is the last day that he can be hanged on because if the he knows that day x is the last day that he can be hanged on then he knows that day x is not the last day that he can be hanged on. It is therefore unknowable (though it can probably be narrowed down to a few days)

---

Merged post follows:

Consecutive posts merged

Here is a couple of nice links on four value logic:

http://www.orafaq.com/usenet/comp.databases.theory/2004/04/23/0957.htm

http://www.dbdebunk.com/page/page/1543772.htm

---

Merged post follows:

Consecutive posts merged

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_valued_logic

Edited July 6, 2009 by granpa

[JohnB]

I thought it was the spanish barber who shaved every man in town who didn't shave himself.