(Psychological Paradoxes & Puzzles — 1)
The Paradox of Making the Strongest Possible Chain
The Question: If you were to try to make the strongest possible chain, what would be the best way to approach the problem?
One wrong approach would be to try to remove the weakest links. Here is a proof of this point:
To approach the problem this way creates a paradoxical situation. To set up this paradox we need one definition and five assumptions:
Short idea (25): There are two types of people. One type thinks they're really something. The other type thinks they aren't anything much. People who think they're something are surprised when they realize they will die. Those who think they're nothing special may be surprised when they realize they're alive.
Short idea (167): Speaking as a psychotherapist, I guess that some school shootings and work-place shootings are irrational, incorrect, misguided, illegitimate, and immoral attempts to gain power, respect, and dignity.
Short idea (196): Every person on earth, I would guess, is, by nature: 1) remarkable, 2) ordinary, and 3) inferior. Through work a fourth state can, if things go well, can be added, and this fourth state can be positive or negative depending on which direction the person exerts his or her energy.
