Paradoxes broken down

Paradoxes can be broken down into three categories:

  1. Vertical paradox means truthful or not illusionary. Problems that seem paradoxical. For example, take the Birthday Paradox. If you were to survey 40 people, some people would likely share a birthday. While an interesting phenomenon, it isn’t a paradox in nature.
  2. Falsidical paradox establishes a result that not only appears false but actually is false. A classic example of this is Zeno’s Paradox. Let’s say to get from Point A to Point B is 10 feet. I start walking halfway; I am now 5 feet from my destination. Then I go halfway again, so now I am 2.5 feet. Then again, halfway, now I am 1.25 feet. Then again, 0.625 feet away. Then again, and so on. I can never reach my destination because every time I move, I must arrive at the halfway stage before I arrive at the destination. It’s a paradox. It broke the brains of mathematicians for a long time until the limits of calculous were discovered.
  3. The antinomy paradox is a fundamental paradox. An excellent example of an antinomy paradox is the Liar’s Paradox, which states, “This sentence is false.” So, for this sentence to be true, it also must be false. And if it is false, then it must be true. Which means it is a contradiction. And we are stuck in a loop. The antinomy paradox is a fundamental paradox. An excellent example of an antinomy paradox is the Liar’s Paradox, which states, “This sentence is false.” So, for this sentence to be true, it also must be false. And if it is false, then it must be true. Which means it is a contradiction. And we are stuck in a loop. Another example of this is The Barber’s Paradox, first proposed by mathematician Bertrand Russell. It goes like this: The only barber in the village declared that he shaved everyone in the village who did not shave himself. So, here is the question, “Who shaves the barber?” If he does not shave himself, then he is one of those in the village who does not shave himself, and so is shaved by the barber, namely, himself. If he shaves himself, he is, of course, one of the people in the village who the barber does not shave. It’s a contradiction.