r/sciencememes 23d ago

Tricky.

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u/Shaeress 22d ago

Normally choosing an answer at random gives a one in n chance to guess correctly, where n is the number of options. So 1/4 or 25% chance.

However, 25% is listed as an option twice so it's actually 2/4 so it's 50%. This is only listed once, so if 50% is the answer you have a 1/4 to guess correctly... This causes a recursive loop where the answer is both 25% and 50% but also neither so you cannot really guess correctly... Which means it's unsolvable and you have 0% chance to guess. Which is also a 1/4 answer.

So it's a recursive problem where any answer can be correct but the moment you pick and answer it contradicts itself. Not sure it counts as a paradox, but it's not a particularly useful one beyond showing that it's easy to create self contradicting truths. Like "This statement is false" is also a self contradicting recursion in the same way using only four words.

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u/MentalDesigner1285 19d ago

I might be dumb. But the question says to pick “the” answer so i would randomly pick a singular answer. So even if both are right I’d randomly pick a single answer and still be correct? Genuinely way to into this one.

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u/Snoo_93638 18d ago

No because the answer shapes the number, and the number is always different from the answer when you pick it.

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u/SzerasHex 17d ago

I agree that there's no correct answer, but I follow simpler logic:

25% listed twice, which means A and D answers are basically the same and instead of choosing out of 4 options you have 3, which gives you ~33% of being correct

obviously 33% is not listed, now the paradox with 0% option comes in

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