Hypothetically Resolving a Paradox?
Hello! I am writing a screenplay (that's due tomorrow, by the by), and I've stumbled across a part where my two main characters need to resolve a paradox or two. I keep coming up with really stupid explanations and can't seem to get past something like a seance (which I most certainly do *not* want happening, it just doesn't fit the mood of the film). So basically what I'm looking for is a sort-of logical way to go about resolving a paradox. If it helps at all, the main puzzle is called the Raven Paradox.
Thank you!
Comments
http://www.amazon.com/Stranger-Strange-Land-Rememb...
I suggest a True Witness, resolve the paradox by avoiding it.
A True Witness is like a Notary. They are paid to observe and bear witness. They are trained to tell only what they know to be true. The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
A True Witness avoids the paradox by telling the truth:
I have seen many ravens, all the ravens I have seen were black.
I have researched ravens, in the references I consulted there was no case of a raven being any color except black.
Based on my research, there is less than a 0.001% chance that ravens occur in any color except black.
In the bird identification references I consulted, the identifying color of ravens is black.
etc.
The Raven Paradox is centered around the idea that observing the negative case of a statement or condition helps you glean information about the positive...which is impossible
To be honest it's only a paradox if you rigidly hold yourself to the rules of the game. It's not a paradox in the sense that it creates a perceived impossibility to a casual observer like going back in time and killing your grandfather. It's only a paradox if you apply rules of logic and examine an oversimplified rule from a specific perspective. Mental gymnastics.
If you look up the Wikipedia article on the Raven Paradox it walks you through several different approaches to resolving it, but honestly it's fairly confusing and doesn't help that much. Like I said, the Raven Paradox isn't really a paradox unless you're some fancy academic with nothing better to do than sit around and sip brandy while postulating ridiculous questions with your chess club.
You have picked a tough one there. I think what you need to do is have one or both of your characters suffer an episode of amnesia so that there can no longer be any presupposition. So maybe you'd get "Ravens? Whatever they really are..." Another work-around may be for one of them to be autistic in some way (like The Rainman) or at least get into dialogue with an autistic person.
Another way could be for someone who doesn't speak your characters' native language well to use Google Translate and come up with a nonsense solution that leads to the paradox no longer being paradoxical. Have fun...
different dimensions in which multiple outcomes can happen
one of which is not an endless loop; an entirely different thing happens
does this make sense