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BrainDrain

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  1. "If the temperature this morning is 0 degrees and the Weather Channel says, "it will be twice as cold tomorrow", what will the temperature be?"

    I know what you're thinking: The answer is 2 times 0 which is, of course, 0. And that would be a paradox. But the real answer lies in knowing what the temperature dropped to 0 from.

    What was the temperature yesterday? If it was +20 degrees and went to 0 today, then the temperature dropped 20 degrees. Twice that is 40 degrees, meaning tomorrow's temperature will be -40 degrees.

    Mathematically:

    Let X represent yesterday's temperature. Let Y equal tomorrow's temperature.

    X - X = 0

    0 - 2X = Y

    Nope, no paradox here. Just an incomplete formula. And it doesn't matter whether it's Celsius or Farenheit.

  2. In order to truly make this a paradox, you would need to qualify at the beginning that both statements are either true or false.

    If both statements are true, it's a paradox because they cannot both be true.

    If both statements are false, it's a paradox because they cannot both be false.

    There is no such qualifer to this "puzzle"; therefore, it's philosophy.

    But it does provoke thought, doesn't it? That's what philosophy does.

  3. As a newbie to this site, perhaps I don't understand. This was under the category of "sophisms", which means a faulty or flawed argument. It's like a bad syllogism:

    The **** crows.

    The sun rises.

    Therefore, the sun rises due to the ****'s crow.

    Compare with:

    If you answer correctly, I will return the child.

    If you answer incorrectly, I will eat the child.

    Therefore, I will (or will not) (return/eat) the child.

    There's not really a riddle here, so there can be no answer. But it does make for some interesting discussion, doesn't it?

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