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Wed 26 Mar, 2003 11:04 am
I think most people have heard some variation of this riddle, but if you're looking for a quick way to kill off unwanted braincells, try thinking about this one for a minute or two ...
A man walks up to you and says - "everything I say to you is a lie."
Is he telling you the truth or is he lying?
I think this was one of my first experiences with a paradox. As a kid this one really bothered me.
Yeah, that one isn't a paradox though, just a low blow loaded question.
The ones of that variety that I was firts introduced to were:
"Do you have AIDS?" no "Are you positive?"
and
"Does your mom know you have AIDS?"
Well, they are only a problem if the rule is that you have to answer yes or no!
To avoid the word Yes, see how long you can chat with a telemarketer without saying it. They try to get you by recording you saying "yes" to their sales pitch.
heehee - well, I have a silent number and so avoid most of such stuff - but my only words are a calm "No thank you."
Not even a "please hold while I do my taxes"?
NO! That would be cruel!
The Seinfeld response is the best, I believe.
A simple "Bye" works -
BTW - "Everything I say to you is a lie" got just less than 50% of the votes!
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