The Pinocchio Confusion

Logic Level 1

If Pinocchio says the following statement, what will happen?

Statement: "My nose will grow"

Note: When Pinocchio tells a lie, his nose extends. When Pinocchio tells the truth, there is no change regarding the size of his nose.

Image Credit: Pinocchio (1940 film) .
There's no definitive answer! His nose will grow! His nose will shrink! His nose will stay the same!

Soheb Mandhai by Soheb Mandhai , 26, United Kingdom

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1 solution

Rishabh Purohit
Aug 25, 2015

he says that "My nose will grow." The nose will grow only when he lies. Not anything is given that may be called as a lie or truth.

So Both situations arise ...TRUTH & LIE

Hence, Not much information.

1 Helpful 0 Interesting 0 Brilliant 0 Confused

Its a paradox.Pinocchio's nose should grow because he lied but then since his nose grows , the same statement that was considered a lie will become a truthful statement.Therefore his nose should not grow.Its like the Chicken or egg problem.

Athiyaman Nallathambi - 5 years, 9 months ago

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I can be down graded from a paradox by simple logic . "my nose will grow " it does not say when . He is simply admitting that at some time in the future his nose will grow as he tells a lie. Thus this statement is truth not a lie . Simply a reference to a future event . thus it is a truth not a lie but it is no longer a paradox but a foresight based on the fact that he will lie one day .

Troy Brown - 5 years, 9 months ago

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Brilliant, a future frame of reference somewhat breaks the paradox (as suggested by William F. Vallicella) by adding potential for reasoning and possibilities. However, we also have to consider the paradigm of the spell that Pinocchio is under. Can the spell differentiate between true and false with absolute determination? If so, does the spell account for all moments in time or just the present/past?

Of course, this moves beyond the scope of the original question and introduces opinions based on interpretation.

A very interesting point for discussion, thank you for the post :)

Soheb Mandhai - 5 years, 9 months ago

yeah its a paradox.

Rishabh Purohit - 5 years, 9 months ago

Precisely, it's not a matter of there being insufficient information; the problem is meant to be a paradox :)

Soheb Mandhai - 5 years, 9 months ago

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