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But it's stipulated that the test will happen on one of the days - it's not a possibility that it won't happen at all, hence the paradox. One resolution is tha
by griffzhowl 2y ago
But it's stipulated that the test will happen on one of the days - it's not a possibility that it won't happen at all, hence the paradox.
One resolution is that what the teacher stipulates is impossible. It should really be
"You'll have a test within the next x days but won't know which day it'll be on (unless it's the last day)"
- mcphage 2y agoThat’s not a paradox, though, that’s just impossible instructions. There’s nothing paradoxical about impossible instructions. The teacher should have stipulated “You’ll have a test within the next X days but won’t know which day it’ll be on, or else it won’t happen at all.” The students realize that no test is a possibility, but they wrongly conclude that it’s what will happen, instead of realizing that that possibility merely makes the teacher’s instructions valid.
- griffzhowl 2y agoWell, yeah, a resolution to something that's called a paradox means it's no longer a paradox. It seems we agree that the original instruction as stated, "You’ll have a test within the next X days but won’t know which day it’ll be on" is impossible