Paradox

High school (ages 12+)
Thinking & Learning

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/paradox

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the logical structure?Involves valid reasoning from seemingly true premises to a contradictory conclusion
2. Why do paradoxes matter?Paradoxes help scientists and mathematicians find mistakes in their ideas, so they can make better rules and theories.
3. How did ancient thinkers use paradoxes?Zeno of Elea used paradoxes like Achilles and the Tortoise to show that our ideas about motion, space, and time might be wrong.

Deductive Reasoning: A logical process where a conclusion is based on premises assumed to be true.
Self-Reference: A statement or concept that refers back to itself.
Axiomatic System: A framework of basic assumptions (axioms) from which theorems are derived.