* . *
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Tuesday, October 7, 2025
Earth-News
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Row K Entertainment Emerges as Major New Hollywood Buyer With Splashy TIFF Shopping Spree – TheWrap

    Row K Entertainment Emerges as Major New Hollywood Buyer With Splashy TIFF Shopping Spree – TheWrap

    Charlie Hunnam Reflects on Playing a Serial Killer in Monster: The Ed Gein Story – Yahoo

    Charlie Hunnam Reveals the Dark Challenges of Playing a Serial Killer in Monster: The Ed Gein Story

    “Reba” cast, then and now: See the stars 24 years later (and who’s reunited for another show) – Yahoo

    “Reba” cast, then and now: See the stars 24 years later (and who’s reunited for another show) – Yahoo

    Why Taylor Swift Name-Dropped Elizabeth Taylor in Her New Album – Yahoo

    Here’s Why Taylor Swift Dropped Elizabeth Taylor’s Name in Her New Album

    Al Roker Gives Olivia Dean an Unexpected ‘New Job’ on the ‘Today’ Show – Yahoo

    Al Roker Shocks Olivia Dean with an Exciting New Role on the ‘Today’ Show

    Books about the arts and some haunts for a Denton October – Denton Record-Chronicle

    Uncover Artistic Treasures and Spooky Adventures to Experience in Denton This October

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Is Light-Speed Analog Computing the Future of Technology? – BIOENGINEER.ORG

    Could Light-Speed Analog Computing Transform the Future of Technology?

    ARM Institute opens technology project call to speed submarine manufacturing – The Robot Report

    ARM Institute Unveils Cutting-Edge Technology Project to Revolutionize Submarine Manufacturing

    Forget Cowbells. Cows Wear High-Tech Collars Now. – The New York Times

    Ditch the Cowbells: Discover the High-Tech Collars Transforming Cattle Care

    What the Recent Price Surge Means for Figure Technology Solutions After SEC Settlement – Yahoo Finance

    What the Recent Price Surge Reveals About Figure Technology Solutions Following SEC Settlement

    MAC Brings iPad Technology to Football Sidelines Across All 13 Member Schools – Sports Video Group

    MAC Brings iPad Technology to Football Sidelines Across All 13 Member Schools – Sports Video Group

    Technology Is Becoming More Important Than Humans In CX – No Jitter

    Technology Is Becoming More Important Than Humans In CX – No Jitter

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Row K Entertainment Emerges as Major New Hollywood Buyer With Splashy TIFF Shopping Spree – TheWrap

    Row K Entertainment Emerges as Major New Hollywood Buyer With Splashy TIFF Shopping Spree – TheWrap

    Charlie Hunnam Reflects on Playing a Serial Killer in Monster: The Ed Gein Story – Yahoo

    Charlie Hunnam Reveals the Dark Challenges of Playing a Serial Killer in Monster: The Ed Gein Story

    “Reba” cast, then and now: See the stars 24 years later (and who’s reunited for another show) – Yahoo

    “Reba” cast, then and now: See the stars 24 years later (and who’s reunited for another show) – Yahoo

    Why Taylor Swift Name-Dropped Elizabeth Taylor in Her New Album – Yahoo

    Here’s Why Taylor Swift Dropped Elizabeth Taylor’s Name in Her New Album

    Al Roker Gives Olivia Dean an Unexpected ‘New Job’ on the ‘Today’ Show – Yahoo

    Al Roker Shocks Olivia Dean with an Exciting New Role on the ‘Today’ Show

    Books about the arts and some haunts for a Denton October – Denton Record-Chronicle

    Uncover Artistic Treasures and Spooky Adventures to Experience in Denton This October

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Is Light-Speed Analog Computing the Future of Technology? – BIOENGINEER.ORG

    Could Light-Speed Analog Computing Transform the Future of Technology?

    ARM Institute opens technology project call to speed submarine manufacturing – The Robot Report

    ARM Institute Unveils Cutting-Edge Technology Project to Revolutionize Submarine Manufacturing

    Forget Cowbells. Cows Wear High-Tech Collars Now. – The New York Times

    Ditch the Cowbells: Discover the High-Tech Collars Transforming Cattle Care

    What the Recent Price Surge Means for Figure Technology Solutions After SEC Settlement – Yahoo Finance

    What the Recent Price Surge Reveals About Figure Technology Solutions Following SEC Settlement

    MAC Brings iPad Technology to Football Sidelines Across All 13 Member Schools – Sports Video Group

    MAC Brings iPad Technology to Football Sidelines Across All 13 Member Schools – Sports Video Group

    Technology Is Becoming More Important Than Humans In CX – No Jitter

    Technology Is Becoming More Important Than Humans In CX – No Jitter

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
Earth-News
No Result
View All Result
Home Science

A Married Bachelor Proves That Unicorns Exist

October 17, 2023
in Science
A Married Bachelor Proves That Unicorns Exist
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Unicorns roam free in fantasy novels and children’s stories, not so much in the real world, much less the cold, analytical ones of math and philosophy. But it turns out that these logical disciplines are only one misstep away from proving the existence of the long-adored mythic creatures—or proving any absurdity.

To understand how unicorns could migrate into our most objective fields of study, we must first look to tenets laid down by Aristotle more than 2,300 years ago. Among his many impressive contributions, he is often credited with articulating the “three laws of thought”—self-evident statements that we must assume for any theory of logic to take flight. The one that matters for unicorn hunters is the law forbidding contradiction. That law says propositions cannot be both true and false. You can’t have A and not A. Square circles and married bachelors are simply unwelcome in a civilized logic.  

Contradictions keep math and philosophy on course through negative feedback. Like dead ends in a maze, they signal “this is not the way forward” and demand that you retrace your steps and choose a different path. Contradictions also underpin all paradoxes. Consider the infamous liar paradox: “This sentence is false.” If it’s true, then we should take it at face value: the sentence is false. If it’s false then it is not the case that the sentence is false, i.e., it’s true. So if the statement is true, then we deduce that the statement is false and vice versa, a contradiction. Because of Aristotle’s law, the contradiction cannot stand, so the liar paradox and hundreds of other known paradoxes beg for resolutions. Reams of philosophical papers have been devoted to the impressively resilient liar paradox, all in an effort to purge the world of one contradiction.  

But why are contradictions so unacceptable? Need we accept the law of noncontradiction? Maybe contradictions are akin to black holes. They’re weird, counterintuitive boundary objects that violate some accustomed rules, but we must make room for them in our description of reality. What would happen if we threw up our hands and accepted the liar paradox as a genuine contradiction? Aside from them being aesthetically unpalatable, inviting a contradiction into logic poses a major problem known as the principle of explosion. Once we admit even a single contradiction, we can prove anything, whether it’s true or not.  

The argument that proves anything from a contradiction is remarkably straightforward. As a warm-up, suppose you know that the following statement is true.

True statement: Omar is married or Maria is five feet tall.

You know the above to be true. It doesn’t necessarily imply that Omar is married, nor does it imply that Maria is five feet tall. It only implies that at least one of those must be the case. Then you import an additional piece of knowledge. 

True statement: Omar is not married. 

What can you conclude from this pair of assertions? We conclude that Maria must be five feet tall. Because if she isn’t and Omar isn’t married either, then our original or-statement couldn’t have been true after all. With this example in mind, let’s assume a contradiction to be true and then derive something ridiculous from it. Philosophers love a married bachelor as a succinct example of a contradiction; so to honor that tradition, let’s assume the following: 

True statement: Omar is married.

True statement: Omar is not married.

Using these as true statements, we’ll now prove that unicorns exist. 

True statement: Omar is married or unicorns exist.

This is true because we know from our assumption that Omar is married and an or-statement as a whole is true whenever one of the claims on either side of the “or” is true. 

True statement: Omar is not married.

Remember, we assumed this to be true. 

Conclusion: Unicorns exist. 

Just like we concluded that Maria must be five feet tall, once we accept that either Omar is married or unicorns exist and then add in that Omar is not married, we’re forced to admit the absurd. The simplicity of this argument can make it seem like sleight of hand, but the principle of explosion is fully sound and a key reason why contradictions cause intolerable destruction. If a single contradiction is true, then everything is true. 

Some logicians find the principle of explosion so disturbing that they propose altering the rules of logic into a so-called paraconsistent logic, specifically designed to invalidate the arguments we’ve seen above. Proponents of this project argue that since unicorns have nothing to do with Omar’s marital status, we should not be able to learn anything about one from the other. Still, those in favor of paraconsistent logic have to bite some hearty bullets by rejecting seemingly obvious arguments as invalid, like the argument we used to conclude that Maria is five feet tall. Most philosophers decline to make that move.

Some advocates of paraconsistent logic take an even more radical stance called dialetheism, which asserts that some contradictions are actually true. Dialetheists reject the law of noncontradiction and claim that rather than expelling contradictions from every corner of rationality, we should embrace them as peculiar types of statements that are occasionally true and false simultaneously. Dialetheists boast that under their view, head-banging conundra like the liar paradox resolve themselves. They simply say that “this sentence is false” is both true and false, with no need for further debate. Although dialetheism has relatively few adherents, it has gained recognition as a respectable philosophical position, largely thanks to the extensive work of British philosopher Graham Priest. 

Logic is also the foundation of mathematics, meaning that math is just as vulnerable to catastrophe if a contradiction arises. Spanning different eras and languages, mathematicians have erected a towering edifice of intricately tangled arguments that govern everything from the stuff you use to balance your checkbook to the calculations that make planes fly and nuclear reactors cook.

The principle of explosion ensures that unless we want to rewrite logic itself, a single contradiction would bring the whole field tumbling to the ground. It is remarkable to consider that among countless complicated arguments in logic and math, we’ve avoided collapse and not let one contradiction slip through the cracks—at least that we know of. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S)

Jack Murtagh writes about math and puzzles, including a series on mathematical curiosities at Scientific American and a weekly puzzle column at Gizmodo. His original puzzles have appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Los Angeles Times, among other outlets. He holds a Ph.D. in theoretical computer science from Harvard University. Follow Murtagh on Twitter @JackPMurtagh

>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : Scientific American – https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-married-bachelor-proves-that-unicorns-exist/

Tags: Bachelormarriedscience
Previous Post

It takes just 108 milliseconds for our brains to spot food

Next Post

As Arctic Sea Ice Breaks Up, AI Is Starting to Predict Where the Ice Will Go

Learned use of an innate sound-meaning association in birds – Nature

How Birds Unlock Natural Sound-Meaning Links Through Learning

October 7, 2025
This Ancient Statue Was Discarded by Raiders. Scientists Think It’s a Rare Treasure. – Popular Mechanics

Forgotten by Raiders, This Ancient Statue Could Be a Priceless Treasure

October 7, 2025
Scientists used AI to map uncharted areas of the mouse brain – Live Science

Scientists Harness AI to Uncover Hidden Regions of the Mouse Brain

October 7, 2025
Pets of the Day: Sweep the clouds away with Zoe, Telly and Elmo – Yahoo

Meet Zoe, Telly, and Elmo: Your Daily Dose of Sunshine and Smiles

October 7, 2025
Is Light-Speed Analog Computing the Future of Technology? – BIOENGINEER.ORG

Could Light-Speed Analog Computing Transform the Future of Technology?

October 7, 2025
Frustrations grow around Bill Belichick and North Carolina after team’s porous start to the 2025 season – Yahoo Sports

Frustrations grow around Bill Belichick and North Carolina after team’s porous start to the 2025 season – Yahoo Sports

October 7, 2025
Jason Anderson Signs for Suzuki for 2026 SMX World Championship – Monster Energy AMA Supercross

Jason Anderson Signs for Suzuki for 2026 SMX World Championship – Monster Energy AMA Supercross

October 7, 2025
Downtown St. Paul’s economy showing new life after state employees mandated to return to office – 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS

Downtown St. Paul Thrives Again as State Employees Return to the Office

October 7, 2025
No, Anthony Boyle Didn’t Use a Prosthetic in His House of Guinness Bath Scene – Yahoo

Anthony Boyle Opens Up About the Shocking Truth Behind His House of Gucci Bath Scene

October 7, 2025
Ozzy Osbourne documentary reveals agonizing health struggles of his final years – USA Today

Inside Ozzy Osbourne’s Heartbreaking Battle with Health in His Final Years

October 7, 2025

Categories

Archives

October 2025
M T W T F S S
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  
« Sep    
Earth-News.info

The Earth News is an independent English-language daily published Website from all around the World News

Browse by Category

  • Business (20,132)
  • Ecology (856)
  • Economy (876)
  • Entertainment (21,749)
  • General (17,463)
  • Health (9,918)
  • Lifestyle (889)
  • News (22,149)
  • People (878)
  • Politics (887)
  • Science (16,087)
  • Sports (21,377)
  • Technology (15,857)
  • World (859)

Recent News

Learned use of an innate sound-meaning association in birds – Nature

How Birds Unlock Natural Sound-Meaning Links Through Learning

October 7, 2025
This Ancient Statue Was Discarded by Raiders. Scientists Think It’s a Rare Treasure. – Popular Mechanics

Forgotten by Raiders, This Ancient Statue Could Be a Priceless Treasure

October 7, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

Go to mobile version