8 Paradoxes Guaranteed To Melt Your Mind
3. Zenos Paradox/Fletchers Paradox
Zeno of Elea, aside from having a badass hero name, was an Ancient Greek philosopher who was big on his paradoxes, particularly if the happened to call the nature of reality into question. One of the brain-twisters he came up with is one commonly referred to as the Fletcher's Paradox
It basically infers that nothing, ever, is in motion and that motion itself is an illusion. Still with me? You can roll your eyes if you like.
The example used to demonstrate this paradox is that of an arrow in flight (hence, "fletcher's paradox" as a fletcher is a person who makes arrows).
The premise is as follows:
When the arrow occupies a space justits own size, its at rest. At every moment of its flight, the arrow occupies a space justits own size. Therefore, at every moment of its flight, the arrow is at rest.
Basically, what our chum Zeno is saying is that, at any given instant, an object's position can be precisely plotted and therefore its velocity is zero. Therefore, in a sequence of these moments, the sum total of the arrow's velocity is also zero.
Like, it's obviously, demonstrably not and it's probably little comfort to someone who has an arrow flying towards them - that's why it's a paradox. It demonstrates the disconnect between reason and observation.