Category: Paradoxes
-
Every Proof That There Are Infinitely Many Primes Explained
What Is a Prime Number? Euclid’s Proof Factorial Proof Erdős’s Proof What Is a Prime Number? Think of a natural number. That is, a number used for counting, like six. Next, think of another natural number, like two. If we calculate 6 / 2, the result is 3. Since 3 is read more
Written by
-
Every Geometry Paradox That Shouldn’t Be Possible
The Missing Square Puzzle The Laves Paradox The Ebbinghaus Illusion The Klein Bottle The Penrose Stairs The Missing Square Puzzle The triangle puzzle with the missing square is one of the most well-known examples where geometric intuition fails. At first glance, the problem seems simple. Two triangular figures are composed of read more
Written by
-
Every Weird Paradox in Set Theory
The Paradox of Enumeration Cardinality of the Continuum Russell’s Paradox König’s Paradox Richard’s Paradox Skolem’s Paradox The Paradox of Enumeration The paradox of enumeration is one of the basic problems of sets, first encountered prior to the development of modern set theory. It is related to the cardinality, or quantity of read more
Written by
-
Every Infinity Paradox Explained
Hilbert’s Hotel Cantor’s Diagonal Argument Thompson’s Lamp Gabriel’s Horn The Ross-Littlewood Paradox The Dartboard Paradox The St. Petersburg Paradox The Riemann Series Theorem Hilbert’s Hotel Hilbert’s Hotel is a thought experiment proposed by German mathematician David Hilbert in 1925. It involves a hotel with an infinite sequence of rooms: 1, 2, read more
Written by
-
Every Weird Math Paradox Explained – Part 2
Simpson’s Paradox The Monty Hall Problem The Sleeping Beauty Problem Cantor’s Paradox The Ant on a Stretching Rope Berry’s Paradox The Absent-Minded Driver Hooper’s Paradox Bertrand’s Paradox Simpson’s Paradox Simpson’s Paradox is often presented as a compelling demonstration of why we need statistics education in our schools. It was first noted read more
Written by
-
Why aleph‑null + aleph‑null = aleph‑null (The Math of Infinity)
Aleph-Null: The Smallest Infinity Aleph-null (ℵ₀) is a cardinal number in set theory that represents the cardinality, or size, of the set of natural numbers {1, 2, 3, …}. It is the first transfinite cardinal number and is used to describe the size of infinite sets. Arithmetic with Aleph-Null Comparing Infinite read more
Written by
-
Every Forbidden Operation in Math Explained
Ever wondered why you cannot take the logarithm of zero? We are diving into every forbidden math operation that just does not play by the rules. Division by Zero Logarithm of Zero Negative Output of Absolute Value Zero to a Negative Exponent Multiplying Infinity by Zero Adding Scalars and Vectors Determinant read more
Written by
-
Zeno’s Dichotomy Paradox Explained
Imagine you are about to clap your hands. But think about what has to happen first. Your right hand has to travel half the distance to your left. Then half of what remains. Then half again. And again. And again. This is an infinite number of steps. And infinity is not just “a lot.” Here, read more
Written by
-
Every Weird Math Paradox Explained
The Hairy Ball Theorem The Dichotomy Paradox The Birthday Problem Gabriel’s Horn The Elevator Paradox The St. Petersburg Paradox Hilbert’s Hotel Russell’s Paradox The Banach-Tarski Paradox The Hairy Ball Theorem Hairy Ball Theorem. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Imagine a ball covered in hair, like a fuzzy tennis ball. The hairy read more
Written by
-
Every Logic Paradox Created by Mathematicians Explained
The Ring of Gyges by Plato The Hines dilemma The paradox of the ravens The liar paradox The Barber paradox Timestamps: The Ring of Gyges by Plato The Ring of Gyges is a thought experiment from Plato’s book, The Republic, written in 380 BC. This story tackles what happens to morality read more
Written by
