The interesting number paradox is a simple way to reinforce that sometimes the best way to prove something is to actually prove its contrary. My curiosity about interesting numbers stemmed from a variety of online chatter about how the year 2025 was mathematically interesting: The concept of interestingness is not actually defined mathematically but is…
The raven paradox forces us to question the value of information. In his 1965 essay “Studies in the Logic of Confirmation,” the acclaimed philosopher of science Carl Hempel showcased a fundamental paradox in the scientific method using the simplistic observations of ravens. He started with the statement “all ravens are black.” Expressed in logic form,…
Q: How many randomly-chosen people would need to be in the same room to virtually guarantee two of them share the same birthday? A: 75 (99.9% probability) This unintuitive answer is known as the birthday paradox. The earliest known publication of the birthday paradox was in 1939 by the mathematician Richard von Mises. However, there…