Discussion Training

Math English

The Crocodile Dilemma

A slim crocodile living in the Nile took a child. His mother begged to have him back.
The crocodile could not only talk, but was also a great sophist and stated, if you
guess correctly what I will do with him, I will return him. However, if you dont
predict his fate correctly, Ill eat him.
What statement should the mother make to save her child?

Yes or No, that is the question

Answer truthfully (yes or no) to the following question:
Will the next word you say be no

Double Liar Paradox (Jourdain's paradox)

This version of a famous paradox was presented by English mathematician P. Jourdain in 1913. The
following is written on opposite sides of a card:
Back side
THE SENTENCE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THIS CARD IS TRUE.
Face side
THE SENTENCE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THIS CARD IS FALSE.

Pinocchio
If pinochio says that it will grow, but it doest, hes lying. But grows when
he lies, so hed be telling the truth.
But what if his nose still grew while he was telling the truth?

A few sentences from life

Nobody goes to that restaurant; it's too crowded.

Don't go near the water 'til you have learned how to swim.
Who ever wrote such a stupid sentence cannot write at all.
If you get this message, call me, and if you don't get it, don't call.
ADVERTISEMENT: Are you an analphabet? Write and we will send you, free
of charge, instructions how to undo it.

Think about these:

Let's say there is a bullet, which can shoot through any barrier. Let's also
say there is an absolutely bulletproof armor, which no object can
penetrate. What will happen if such a bullet hits such armor?
Your mission is not to accept the mission. Do you accept?
A girl goes into the past and kills her Grandmother. Since her Grandmother
is dead, the girl was never born. If she were never born, she never killed
her grandmother.
If the temperature this morning is 0 degrees and the Weather Channel
says, "it will be twice as cold tomorrow", what will the temperature be?
What happens if you are in a car going the speed of light and you turn the
headlights on?

The crocodile dilemma.doc

The crocodile dilemma

It seems that from the crocodile's viewpoint it doesn't matter if the mother speaks
truly or falsely, for if she speaks truly the crocodile cannot return the child without
destroying the truth of the mother's statement. Similarly, if the mother has spoken
falsely, the crocodile still cannot return the child, because the mother has not fulfilled
the agreement. From the mother's viewpoint it doesn't matter if she has spoken truly
or falsely. If the mother has spoken truly, then by the terms of the agreement the
crocodile must return the baby. Then, too, the mother can be said to have spoken
falsely only after the child has been returned. Therefore, whether the mother speaks
truly or falsely, the child must be returned.
To understand the logical inconsistencies buried in the mother's and the crocodile's
arguments, it is helpful to summarize their views.
The crocodile's argument can be expressed as follows:
If the mother accurately predicts what I will do, then I will return the baby. If I return
the baby, then the mother has not accurately predicted what I will do. Therefore I will
not return the baby.
The mother's view can be expressed as follows:
If I accurately predict what the crocodile will do, then my baby will be returned to me.
If my baby is not returned (eaten), then I predicted accurately what the crocodile will
do. Therefore the baby will be returned to me.
Consider the two premises of the crocodile's argument. As the crocodile states in the
first premise, he returns the baby if and only if the mother accurately predicts what he
will do. However, according to the second premise, if he does return the baby, then
the mother's prediction is false. But how can this be, if based on the first premise the
baby can be returned if and only if the mother predicts accurately? The point is that it
can't be for as we have just demonstrated, assuming that the agreement can be kept
leads to validly deduced contradictory conclusions. A similar analysis can be made of
the mother's argument.
OK the answer proper
The only correct statement the mother can give is I guess you will do with him what
ever you decide
No matter what the crock decides...it is the childs fate...it is the correctly predicted
guess...he must give up the child...
Remember the question was what statement, not what answer, should the mother
give.