Paradoxes.

"My book has a very simple surface, but there are layers of irony and paradox all the way through it."

- Mark Haddon

Paradoxes. The puzzles of the Universe. Things we think we comprehend, yet we don't actually comprehend them at all. The more we try to come to grips with a paradox, the more our mind is bend, baffled and we become confused. You want an example?


Imagine there is one male barber; and that every man in the town keeps himself clean-shaven. Some by shaving themselves, some by attending the barber. It seems reasonable to imagine that the barber obeys the following rule: He shaves all and only those men in town who do not shave themselves.


So then, does the barber shave himself? ...Well, yes and no. Its impossible. If he does not shave himself, he can. But once he as shaven, he cant.


You want another brain twister?


This one is quite short, but is nevertheless still confusing. A few of you may know this because of Batman: The Dark Knight, The Joker says it. What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? 


What do you think? Do you have an answer? Well to be honest, there is no answer, as no force is completely unstoppable, and you could not achieve an immovable object and there could not be any, as even a small force will cause a slight acceleration on an object of any mass. And, an unstoppable force would require an infinite amount of energy, which does not exist in a finite universe (I believe it's finite!).


A paradox is a statement that appears to contradict itself, when it actually makes sense in some terms. The statement "I always lie" is a paradox, as if it is true - it must be false.


Paradoxes are mind boggling things. Even a 3 word sentence can baffle you for hours. 


Paradoxes also exist in time travel. Lets assume you have created a way to travel back in time, you travel back 60 years and kill your grandfather. What happens to you? Do you die? Do you instantaneously disappear? Or do you cause a rip in time? 


None of the above. You are in a parallel universe. Nothing happens, you kill him in a different universe. You can then return to your own universe and live life as usual. They are amazing things, parallel universes. You should research them. Fascinating.


With parallel universes, when two outcomes are both possible, they will both occur - each in its own new universe. Universes created a moment ago can be almost identical to our own. Universes created billions of years ago can be entirely different. An example of our Universe splitting is when you make a cup of tea.

"Tea or Coffee?"

"Both thank you [1 in our Universe, 1 in another]"

To conclude, think in depth about all the paradoxes i've brought to you. And even research some more, they're good mental workouts. Then try and comprehend the theory of parallel universes. And even research more into them. We are coming closer to finding the truth about them, and they allow time travel! Have my puzzles of the Universe puzzled you?


Thanks you reading, Ben.