Paradoxes and Oxymorons

[The Man who was Thursday]

MyOwnBestCritic

Paradoxes are fun biggrin

For example, the opposite of a correct statement is a false statement. But the opposite of a truth can be another truth.

I know that I know nothing.

Deep down, he's very shallow.

If you went back in time and killed your gradfather (before your dad/mom was born), then would you exist? Logic says no. But then who killed your grandfather? Nobody. So he isn't dead. So you still exist, and you still kill him. But...

Hehe, Microsoft Works. Although I like Microsoft, it's still tremendously funny smile

Oh, now this is a sci-fi thread, eh?

There are several theories for that, none of which I will go into now.

Especially since it's HIGHLY unlikely that reverse time travel is possible.  

[MyOwnBestCritic]

Ezra Pound

Oh, now this is a sci-fi thread, eh?

There are several theories for that, none of which I will go into now.

Especially since it's HIGHLY unlikely that reverse time travel is possible.

I kind of agree, but it's still a very famous paradox. And there is another thread for time travel, and one more yet for parallel universes.

Maybe we should do some other paradoxes, to avoid getting a really bad sci-fi bent. More oxymorons, too.

Hee hee, I'm still laughing at "Military Intellegence" and "Microsoft Works."  

[MesmericVisions]

Military Inteligence... that made me happy
My favorite oxymoron is fighting for peace.

Any one else have a favorite?  

[Masamune no Hi]

One example paradox is Curry's Paradox.
A natural language version of Curry's paradox might be the following sentence:

If this sentence is true, then Santa Claus exists.

Suppose the sentence is true. Then, since it is true, and it says that if it's true, Santa Claus exists, we can conclude that Santa Claus exists. This step follows from the technique of natural deduction known as conditional derivation. So if the sentence is true, then Santa Claus exists — which is exactly what the sentence states. Therefore the sentence is true and Santa Claus must exist. Since it is evident that any claim could be "proven" in this manner, there is a paradox.

Oxymoron comes from the Greek oxy(Sharp) and moros(dull) meaning "that which is sharp is dull," thereby designating and also exhibiting an opposition between two adjectives which serve as predicates for one subject.

Here are some examples.
civil libertarian
anecdotal evidence
inductive logic
Larger half
Pretty ugly
deafening silence
Jumbo shrimp

Another paradox presented in Robert Louis Stevenson's short story, The Bottle Imp, involves a bottle with an imp inside that grants the owner's wishes as long as he owns it. Of course, there is a catch - the bottle must be sold at a loss, i.e. for less than its owner originally paid, or else it will simply return to him. The currency used in the transaction must also be in coin (not paper currency or check). Another condition of the sale is that all conditions and rules of purchase and ownership must be fully disclosed and understood by the potential buyer. If an owner of the bottle dies without having sold it in the prescribed manner, that person's soul will be tormented for eternity. The premise of the story creates a paradox: what is the lowest price the bottle can be sold for? Clearly buying it for one cent would make it impossible for it to be sold at a loss. It follows that this makes it impossible to be sold for two cents if it is later to be sold on for a loss and the buyer is given full disclosure of the details of the transaction and its ramifications. The same argument makes it impossible to be sold for three cents, or four cents, or indeed any finite amount.  

[Mundi Rosa]

Ezra Pound

A paradox is an event or set of events that cannot (co)exist.

Not *quite* true. Wiki says:

wikipedia

A paradox (Gk: παράδοξος, "aside belief") is an apparently true statement or group of statements that leads to a contradiction or a situation which defies intuition. Typically, either the statements in question do not really imply the contradiction, the puzzling result is not really a contradiction, or the premises themselves are not all really true or cannot all be true together. The word paradox is often used interchangeably and wrongly with contradiction; but whereas a contradiction asserts its own opposite, many paradoxes do allow for resolution of some kind.

So, there are a few (though not many) paradoxes, often in the form of riddles, out there.  

[Malbeur]

I have a favorite oxymoron: Rap Music.  

[Masamune no Hi]

I really enjoyed that one. Thank you. I worship you just for that. Rap is not music. I think it is another reason for such bad grammar today.  

[Mundi Rosa]

C + RAP = Poo. Thus, Rap is less than poo.

Or so my friend says.  

[Luxx Aeternam]

Paradox: All generalizations are false, including this one.
Oxymoron: Microsoft Works  

[jbiggamer]

MyOwnBestCritic

Paradoxes are fun biggrin

For example, the opposite of a correct statement is a false statement. But the opposite of a truth can be another truth.

I know that I know nothing.

Deep down, he's very shallow.

If you went back in time and killed your gradfather (before your dad/mom was born), then would you exist? Logic says no. But then who killed your grandfather? Nobody. So he isn't dead. So you still exist, and you still kill him. But...

Hehe, Microsoft Works. Although I like Microsoft, it's still tremendously funny smile

Many a night i have spent pondering this question myself...  

[Angel80272]

Masamune no Hi

Another paradox presented in Robert Louis Stevenson's short story, The Bottle Imp, involves a bottle with an imp inside that grants the owner's wishes as long as he owns it. Of course, there is a catch - the bottle must be sold at a loss, i.e. for less than its owner originally paid, or else it will simply return to him. The currency used in the transaction must also be in coin (not paper currency or check). Another condition of the sale is that all conditions and rules of purchase and ownership must be fully disclosed and understood by the potential buyer. If an owner of the bottle dies without having sold it in the prescribed manner, that person's soul will be tormented for eternity. The premise of the story creates a paradox: what is the lowest price the bottle can be sold for? Clearly buying it for one cent would make it impossible for it to be sold at a loss. It follows that this makes it impossible to be sold for two cents if it is later to be sold on for a loss and the buyer is given full disclosure of the details of the transaction and its ramifications. The same argument makes it impossible to be sold for three cents, or four cents, or indeed any finite amount.

Actually it would be possible to sell the bottle indefinitely given the right circumstances. What one man takes as a loss, another man could see as worth more, and as such, something sold for as little as one cent could be sold again at a higher price and still be considered a loss. That's not even taking into account currency exchange rates and inflation.  

[Masamune no Hi]

Another Oxymoron: Reality Television.  

[Malbeur]

Oh yeah, another funny oxymoron: Original Copy.  

[Professor_J_Hobbit]

My favorite paradox is the paradox of the heap. It relies on the fact that a heap of grain does not have any certain amount of grains that makes it a heap. It begins with a heap of grain and an empty place. Then you would take a single grain from the heap and place it in the empty space. Since no single grain makes the difference between a pile being a heap or not, the heap is still a heap and the single grain is not. You then take another grain from the heap and place it where you put the first grain. The heap is still a heap and the other pile is not. If you repeat this process, eventually you will come to a point where the heap has only one grain, and the massive pile next to the grain is not a heap.  

[Professor_J_Hobbit]

On the subject of Oxymorons, i'm supprised "Smart Jock" didn't come up.