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#199473 04/29/11 02:49 AM
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tsuwm Offline OP
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a reader (who's a lawyer) asks:

Someone says, "I didn't taste the soup. I did taste the soup." That statement is nonsense, and it's a simple self-contradiction. Either part can be true, but not both.

Someone else says, "I didn't taste the soup, because it is too salty." This too is nonsense, but it's not merely a self-contradiction. His opinion of saltiness may be correct or incorrect, but the mere fact that he has an opinion disproves the claim that he hasn't tasted the soup. The statement is paradoxical, somewhat like "I am asleep," or "The village barber shaves everyone who doesn't shave himself."

Is there a name for this sort of paradox?


I'd say no, but what do I know of paradoxes.

tsuwm #199474 04/29/11 03:24 AM
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A contradiction Paradox?
Seems like a topic the fallible fiend would sink his teeth into.

olly #199590 05/02/11 02:52 PM
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heyhey! Paradoxes my friend are many, each with their own snazzy names and history...I think the one you are talking about (didn't/did) is like the one in my signature: it is QUINE'S PARADOX (related to the LIAR PARADOX ie 'this is not a sentence'), a paradox concerning truth values, such as in my signature where, in simple terms, the sentence implies that it is false, which is paradoxical - for if it is false, what it states is in fact true.


----The next sentence is true. The previous sentence is false----
bexter #199592 05/02/11 05:07 PM
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smile

bexter #199603 05/03/11 02:36 PM
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Originally Posted By: bexter
heyhey! Paradoxes my friend are many, each with their own snazzy names and history...I think the one you are talking about (didn't/did) is like the one in my signature: it is QUINE'S PARADOX (related to the LIAR PARADOX ie 'this is not a sentence'), a paradox concerning truth values, such as in my signature where, in simple terms, the sentence implies that it is false, which is paradoxical - for if it is false, what it states is in fact true.



Yes!


----please, draw me a sheep----
tsuwm #199607 05/03/11 07:06 PM
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Wow...I'm so dizzy!

obihave #199645 05/05/11 06:55 AM
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I might be dizzy, but it's too swoon to tell.

Tromboniator #199646 05/05/11 07:04 AM
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Nice feint.

tsuwm #199671 05/06/11 02:22 AM
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Ha!

olly #199689 05/07/11 07:17 AM
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Do you pass out prizes?

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