What is the Swampman Paradox? The Swampman Paradox is a brain-twister from the world of philosophy. Imagine one day, a man, let’s call him Bob, is walking through a swamp. Out of the blue, lightning strikes and Bob is gone, vanished without leaving even a tiny bit of himself behind. At that exact moment, the same lightning bolt magically creates a new being. This new guy looks just like Bob,... »
Defining The Invisible Gardener The Invisible Gardener is an idea that two people talk about when they can’t agree if something they can’t see is real. Imagine you have a friend who says, “There’s a person taking care of this garden, but we just can’t see him.” You might wonder, “How can that be?” because there is no sign of anyone around. This is th... »
What is Zeno’s Paradox? Zeno’s paradoxes come from ancient Greek philosophy. They’re clever puzzles that still make people scratch their heads today. Picture a Greek philosopher named Zeno, way back around 2,500 years ago. He thought about how things move and came up with some puzzling stories that make it seem like movement is just an illusion, something that can’t really happen... »
What is Twin Earth Paradox? The Twin Earth Paradox invites us to think about something really interesting: what do our words actually mean? Do they just reflect what’s going on in our brains, or do they connect to the actual things in the world? Imagine there’s another planet just like ours, called Twin Earth, where everything seems the same, but there’s one big twist. The stuff ... »
Understanding Mary’s Room Mary’s Room is a brain-teaser that philosophers use to learn about how we understand the world. It’s about a scientist named Mary who knows every scientific fact about colors but has never seen them. When she sees a color, like red, outside of her black-and-white world, the question is: does she learn something new? This puzzles us because if she knew ev... »
What is the Chinese Room Paradox? The Chinese Room Paradox is a challenge to the idea that a computer can truly understand languages and have a mind like a human. Imagine you’re following a recipe—you can bake a cake by following the steps, but that doesn’t mean you understand the chemistry of baking. The paradox, created by philosopher John Searle, asks whether a computer could ever t... »
What is the Trolley Problem? The Trolley Problem is a question of ethics—the study of what is right and wrong. Picture a big, heavy trolley rolling quickly on train tracks. Ahead, there are five people tied up on the tracks who cannot move. The trolley will hit them if it stays on the same path. You are right next to a lever that can make the trolley switch to a different set of tracks, but there’... »
What is Schrödinger’s Cat? Schrödinger’s Cat is a famous idea that comes from the world of physics, a branch of science that deals with matter, energy, and the way they act on each other. Think about a cat that is inside a sealed box with a setup that can release poison based on a random event. Because we can’t see inside the box, we don’t know if the cat is alive or dead. ... »
What is it? A Brain in a Vat is a thought experiment which asks you to imagine something really wild. Suppose a really smart scientist takes your brain out of your body and puts it into a container filled with a special liquid that keeps your brain alive. Your brain is hooked up to a super advanced computer which sends it electrical signals just like the ones you get from your senses when you are ... »
What is the Ship of Theseus? The Ship of Theseus is a puzzle that makes us wonder about identity—what it means to be the same thing over time. Here’s one way to see it: say we have an old ship that was used by a hero named Theseus. This ship is now like a museum piece to celebrate his adventures. But as time goes by, the wooden parts start to rot, and people replace them, one by one, with ne... »