Paradoxes

• Paradox: Rebuilding A Ship

  Students will grapple with a 2,500-year-old paradox about a ship that gets rebuilt two different ways.

  Show 2 Steps

  1. Students compare whether SS Byrdseed, rebuilt gradually, and SS Seabyrd, rebuilt at once, remain the same ships.

  2. Students discuss the Ship of Theseus paradox and how gradual replacement of parts affects identity and continuity over time.

• Paradox: The Barber’s Paradox

  Students will grapple with The Barber’s Paradox about a barber who may (or may not) shave himself.

  Show 2 Steps

  1. Students learn about the barber’s paradox, a situation that creates confusion by contradicting itself in logical statements.

  2. Students work out the contradiction, then write their own version using a different character.

• Paradox: Crocodile Dilemma

  Students will grapple with The Crocodile Dilemma, a paradox from Ancient Greece in which a set of parents negotiate with a tricky crocodile who has stolen their baby.

  Show 2 Steps

  1. Students meet the crocodile dilemma: a crocodile will return a child only if the parents guess his next move.

  2. Students work out why the parents’ guess creates a paradox.

• Paradox: The Liar’s Paradox

  Students puzzle through three variations on The Liar’s Paradox.

  Show 3 Steps

  1. Students examine the statement “This statement is a lie” and find its contradiction.

  2. Students analyze a more complex version with two conflicting statements.

  3. Students consider Pinocchio’s claim that his nose is about to grow.