The Barber Paradox !!
Proposed by Bertrand Russell, British philosopher & logician ( know more about him here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertrand_Russell ) in the early 1900s, The Barber Paradox still puzzles us today. Logical paradoxes are some of the most infuriating and frustrating problems that we can try to solve. As humans, we always want to find an answer and we naturally assume that an answer must exist. one such paradox is Bertrand Russell’s Barber Paradox.
The Barber Paradox
Suppose you walk past a barber’s shop one day, and see a sign that says
“Do you shave yourself? If not, come in and I’ll shave you! I shave anyone who does not shave himself, and no one else.”
This seems fair enough, and fairly simple, until, a little later, the following question occurs to you
Does the barber shave himself? If he does, then he mustn’t, because he doesn’t shave men who shave themselves, but then he doesn’t, so he must, because he shaves every man who doesn’t shave himself. Both possibilities lead to a contradiction.
The Possibilities of Paradox
- If the barber shaves his own face, then he shaves someone who also shaves themselves. This breaks the initial rule that the barber can only shave people who do not shave themselves.
- However, if the barber does not shave himself, then he breaks the rule stating that he shaves anyone who does not shave himself.
So, basically If the barber shaves himself then he is a man on the island who shaves himself hence he, the barber, does not shave himself. If the barber does not shave himself then he is a man on the island who does not shave himself hence he, the barber, shaves him(self).
So, this is the Paradox !!
These paradoxes show us the short fall of our intellect which we as human beings feel so proud of.
So what’s your solution to the Barber Paradox. Answer in comment !!
Read also : The Crocodile Paradox ( https://thebrightdelights.com/the-crocodile-paradox/ )