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I'm always looking for inspiration from numerous resources, and have been looking at some famous paradox's. I have been wondering if they can be used in a magical way, for method or resentation.

Here's one of the most famous:

Ten weary, footsore travellers,
All in a woeful plight,
Sought shelter at a wayside inn
One dark and stormy night.

'Nine rooms, no more,' the landlord said
'Have I to offer you.
To each of eight a single bed,
But the ninth must serve for two.'

A din arose. The troubled host
Could only scratch his head,
For of those tired men not two
Would occupy one bed.

The puzzled host was soon at ease -
He was a clever man -
And so to please his guests devised
This most ingenious plan.

In a room marked A two men were placed,
The third was lodged in B,
The fourth to C was then assigned,
The fifth retired to D.

In E the sixth he tucked away,
In F the seventh man.
The eighth and ninth in G and H,
And then to A he ran,

Wherein the host, as I have said,
Had laid two travellers by;
Then taking one - the tenth and last -
He logged him safe in I.

Nine singe rooms - a room for each -
Were made to serve for ten;
And this it is that puzzles me
And many wiser men.

And one to do with money. I have an interest in 'cons' as a presentational angle, and love this paradox.

Three people have dined at a restaurant and received a total
bill for $30. They agree to split the amount equally and pay
$10 each. The waiter hands the bill and the $30 to the
manager, who realizes there's been a mistake and the correct
charge should be only $25. He gives the waiter five $1 bills
to return to the customers, with the restaurant's apologies.
However, the waiter is dishonest. He pockets $2, and gives
back only $3 to the customers. So, each of the three
customers has paid $9 and the waiter has stolen $2 making a
total of $29. But the original bill was for $30. Where has
the missing dollar gone?

I have found loads more, and I think some have quite a potential. I think Derren Brown used one for a routine which involved a ring and three boxes. I'll post some more in time, because even if they don't provide the inspiration, they are quite fun.

The 'Three people have dined at a restaurant' one is very ancient, I remember hearing it when we were still using good ol' fashioned pounds shillings and pence !

I remember hearing it when we were still using good ol' fashioned pounds shillings and pence

Showing your age there mandrake!

What about this one...

A law student promises to pay his law
professor when he wins his first case. He then decides not
to practice law and takes no cases. The professor sues the
student for his fees. Here are the arguments:

Professor's argument
* If I win, my student must pay, by the court's decision
* If he wins, the student must pay, by our agreement
* Either way, he must pay me

Student's argument
* If I win, I need not pay, by the court's decision
* If my professor wins, I need not pay, by our agreement
* Either way, he must pay me

Who is wrong?

And paul Curry devised this one


http://www.cut-the-knot.org/Curriculum/Fallacies/CurryParadox.shtml

Now, if you find the area of each shape individuall, you will find that the second triangle gains an extra block.

Mandrake wrote:The 'Three people have dined at a restaurant' one is very ancient, I remember hearing it when we were still using good ol' fashioned pounds shillings and pence !

Hello Mandrake,

So, Pounds, Shillings, and Pence no longer exist? What do you lads use now? And, was the old stuff large coins? Does the new stuff work for magic and coin manipulation as easily?

We, over here in the Colonies, used to have large silver dollars. Now, those are collectors items. Half dollars are still around but seldom. And so, in Bobo's book, he is always talking about using silver dollars and half dollars, and while they can be obtained, they just are not common anymore, thus, to use them seems odd. It makes more sense to use quarters if we want a larger coin, but even these are small and not nearly as satisfying as something larger. Size matters. At least to me. It makes it so much easier to manipulate and so much more fun to see.

Love,

Amanda Angeli

AndyRegs wrote:Nine single rooms - a room for each -
Were made to serve for ten;
And this it is that puzzles me
And many wiser men.

.... and this is what puzzles me about this "paradox" - there's still 2 men in room A, so the host never did put 10 men into 9 separate rooms .


I quite like the professor and the student one by the way .

.... and this is what puzzles me about this "paradox" - there's still 2 men in room A, so the host never did put 10 men into 9 separate rooms .

He went back to A to get one of the men and then put him in the last room.

I only got it after running through it with pennies.

He didn't get one of the two men though. It's clearly stated that he gets the 10th man, not the 1st or 2nd.
It doesn't work on any level for me.

Basically, he counts the first man twice. But I think the way it is written is quite clever. I'm sure paul curry used a similar idea for an effect about 10 men and nine hats?

Well all I see is, you put 9 people in 8 rooms, then a 10th person (apparently taken from room 1, even though people 1 & 2 are in there) into room 9.
Not a paradox at all. The whole premise is based on an untruth.

The whole premise is based on an untruth.

As is magic.

True, but neither of the examples are paradox's

beeno wrote:Well all I see is, you put 9 people in 8 rooms, then a 10th person (apparently taken from room 1, even though people 1 & 2 are in there) into room 9.
Not a paradox at all. The whole premise is based on an untruth.

Same as any magic trick.

In fact, as Mr. Regs points out, there is the Paul Curry idea with 10 men and 9 hats...But, it actually goes back further than that.

In the late '70s, I picked up a packet trick called "Leprechauns" wherein there are 10 pots of gold and 10 leprechauns. One pot is stolen (placed in your pocket), yet upon counting it out, each leprechaun still gets his pot of gold in the end...It's really a very straight forward trick and, when I was a kid, used it to good effect on adults.

So, the "paradox" in general has applications in the magic world and is worth studying.

Mike.

What is it with these paradox's?

That Paul Curry triangles one makes no sense to me at all either.
If the line from corner to corner was straight, then it would be paradoxical. Otherwise I can see no problem with it, and henceforth no paradox.

And all this time I thought a paradox was a place where two boats parked...

Mike.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_Hall_problem

This is the paradox Derren Brown used in one of his routines a while back.

And Beeno, I bet you must be one of those nightmare spectators to perform magic to. [/quote]