Suppose one Cretan says to another Cretan, "All Cretans are liars." A paradox is created, for if all Cretans are in fact liars, what he says is true, which would make him not a liar. If he is lying, that means Cretans are not liars, but this is negated by the fact that he is lying.
Now, suppose you are sitting in traffic behind an '87 Buick. Suppose on this Buick there is a bumper sticker, and suppose this bumper sticker reads 'YOU ARE AN IDIOT' in bold, red letters. Once again, we have a paradox. Only an idiot would slap a bumper sticker like that on his car. Because he is an idiot, what he chooses to display on his jalopy should be ignored by people like me, who are not idiots. This is what is referred to as Patrick's Bumper Sticker Paradox.
1 comment:
My brother once told me about being behind a pickup truck that had "THE RULES HAS CHANGED" airbrushed on the tailgate. Since only an idiot (or someone who hired an idiot to airbrush idiocy on their truck) would make such an error, should my brother have assumed at that point that the rules, in fact, had (has?) not changed?
Signs point to yes.
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