(dis)prove a paradox

[shiroun]

Well, basically this can be a topic for the following

a.) Attempts at (dis)proving paradoxes
b.) Explaining the logic behind your answer
c.) Discussing how paradoxes work
d.) Debating answers


So, I'll start with 2 easy ones, add on as you go and finish up each one.

If the temperature this morning is 0 degrees F and the Weather Channel says, "it will be twice as cold tomorrow", what will the temperature be? The temperature would be 0 degrees F by a mathematical basis, however twice 0 isn't 0, it should be higher. Therefore, this could be ensued as any number. Or can it? Paradox!

Answer truthfully (yes or no) to the following question: Will the next word you say be 'no'?
a.) If you answer yes - This would be paradoxical because you are saying that the next word you say is no, however you said yes. Therefore, you lied about this statement and must re-evaluate and submit your answer.
b.) If you answer no - This would again, be paradoxical. Answering 'no' means that the statement is false. However the statement is true, so you are lieing. Re-evaluate your answer.

Go.

 

[Incognitus]

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? The temperature would be 0 degrees by a mathematical basis, however twice 0 isn't 0, it should be higher. Therefore, this could be ensued as any number. Or can it? Paradox!

I think you should say "Twice as warm tomorrow". It makes it easier. I'm not sure if I've done my maths right...In fact, I've now edited this so many times that I'm not confident and I know I haven't done my maths right.



16 degrees f?


EDIT [circa]245435566:

See, this is the thing: You're confusing me in saying "twice as cold" and then discussing what twice zero is which leads me to think you should be saying "twice as warm" instead because we tend not to use this kind part of the qualitative asymetrical pair. If you want to say "twice as warm", I'm going to say 64 degrees f. But now I'm completely confused and annoyed. I also don't think it's a paradox: just a retarded thing for the Weather Channel to say.


Not Another Edit:

Okay... I've decided that, if we're making a judgment that it is going to be "colder" than it is now - 0 degrees, we are speaking relative from what we expect or what we'd be comfortable with: room temperature.... so -21 degrees C, or (if your above measurement is in C) then the temperature should still be 0 degrees... only in F. But if your above statement is actually in F then I don't want to be were you live, and also think that Al Gore is going to go out of a job.



I was worried that this topic had just been deleted when it was move from the Symposium and was beginning to feel a little cross that my head-scratching might have been in vain

 

[shiroun]

Edited first post, al gore is out of a job

 

[arcthemonkey]

Your first "paradox" isn't a paradox at all. In the way that it is worded, it makes absolutely no sense. Also, I doubt that the weather channel would say that it would be twice as cold as zero Fahrenheit. As stated, this is meaningless. Even if you consider relative measures, which is important because all measures of temperature are relative. Fahrenheit relates the freezing point of water, its boiling point, and human body temperature all together in a complicated mess of scales and measures. Freezing and Boiling are 180 degrees apart. If we take the general "center" of Fahrenheit, being 96-98.2 depending on what year we are talking about, then 0 degrees could be described as being 96-98.2 degrees cold, making -96-98.2 "twice as cold." This is absurd.

Another way of framing this is by relating fahrenheit to celcius. 0 degrees fahrenheit is -17.7777778 degrees celcius, that is, -17.7777778 degrees celcius colder than the freezing point of water. Doubling this would yield approx. 35.5555556 degrees celcius, which by arbitrary mathematical means is about half as cold as twice 0 degrees fahrenheit using that relative frame of measure (-96 degrees fahrenheit is 71.1111111 degrees celcius).

What does all of this mean?

It means that twice as cold as zero degrees fahrenheit doesn't mean anything.

 

[candle]

"Cold" isn't a temperature.  It's a feeling.  Saying "it is twice as cold as it was yesterday" means that it feels colder than yesterday did.  Besides, this isn't a paradox, it is mearly an idiosyncrasy in the English language.

 

[holloway]

If this was an actual paradox, the point would be you can't (dis)prove it, that's why it's a paradox.

Silly topic.

 

[Grathea]

...Could God make a weather announcement so stupid that even He couldn't understand it?

 

[Venetia]

:crazy:

I realize you're probably discussing paradoxes in your classes right now but just stick with your homework.

Also, in this paradox, you're not dealing with straight arithmetic, you're dealing with real values of a unit that has other conversions: If it's 0 degrees Fahrenheit, it's -17 degrees Celsius. So if it's twice as cold, that means it'll be -34 degrees Celsius, or -29 degrees Fahrenheit.

Whee for logic!

Just study hard and ace the test, buddy. :]