Here is a charming version of the liar's paradox that came up around the dinner table a few evenings back in response to a question from my eight-year old daughter Theresa: parent: (generic kibitz about eating) kid: (attempt to evade issue by some remark about not wanting to clean up room) parent: That is irrelevant! kid: What does `irrelevant' mean? parent: hmmm. The sliding glass door over there needs to be cleaned. There. I just made an irrelevant remark. `Irrelevant' means not germane to the conversation. other parent: So! Your statement, being irrelevant, provided an example of the concept of irrelevance, which was the topic of the conversation, and hence it was actually relevant. parent: Hmmmmmm. Being relevant, it did not illustrate the topic of the conversation. So, it was irrelevant. other parent: There! You see? It was irrelevant, and so it was in fact relevant to the topic of conversation, irrelevance! ........... Conclusion: If the statement was irrelevant, it was relevant. Also, if it was relevant, it was irrelevant. >Greg Johnson johnson@nrtc.northrop.com
Database Dated : 9/11/2024 6:56:13 PM