Paradoxes

"I know one thing," Socrates famously said. "That I know nothing."

A paradox is a statement that may seem contradictory but can be true (or at least make sense). This makes them stand out and play an important role in literature and everyday life. Below is an example:

ACHILLES AND THE TORTOISE

The Paradox of Achilles and the Tortoise is one of a number of theoretical discussions of movement put forward by the Greek philosopher Zeno of Elea in the 5th century BC. It begins with the great hero Achilles challenging a tortoise to a footrace. To keep things fair, he agrees to give the tortoise a head start of, say, 500m. When the race begins, Achilles unsurprisingly starts running at a speed much faster than the tortoise, so that by the time he has reached the 500m mark, the tortoise has only walked 50m further than him. But by the time Achilles has reached the 550m mark, the tortoise has walked another 5m. And by the time he has reached the 555m mark, the tortoise has walked another 0.5m, then 0.25m, then 0.125m, and so on. This process continues again and again over an infinite series of smaller and smaller distances, with the tortoise always moving forwards while Achilles always plays catch up.

Can you prove this paradox is logically WRONG?

Note by Half Pass3
7 months, 2 weeks ago

No vote yet
1 vote

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Comments

Trivial. Instead of focusing on the paradox, just look at the relative speeds. Achilles traveled 500m whereas the tortoise only 50m in the same amount of time. Thus, Achilles will be at the 1km mark when the tortoise reaches the 600m mark. @Half pass3

A Former Brilliant Member - 7 months, 2 weeks ago

Socrates is paradoxical

Lâm Lê - 7 months, 2 weeks ago

Socrates is lying

Huyen Le Van - 5 months ago
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