You’ve probably heard some variation of the Liar Paradox before, even if you didn’t learn about it in Philosophy class.    It’s a simple and instructive example of a paradox that doesn’t take expensive ivy league schooling (or even a reasonably-priced, state college education like mine) to understand.  The standard version is: “This statement is false.”

If the statement is false, then the statement is true, which makes the statement false, which makes the statement true, etc.   Boom! Paradox.

The Liar Paradox involves a statement that defies logic or reason made by a person who is assumed to be lying.   […]