Related papers: The Erdos Paradox
A subset of the integers larger than 1 is $primitive$ if no member divides another. Erdos proved in 1935 that the sum of $1/(a\log a)$ for $a$ running over a primitive set $A$ is universally bounded over all choices for $A$. In 1988 he…
This short squib looks at how using a broader definition of G\"odel numbering to mimic the accessibility relation between possible worlds results in two-world systems that sidestep undecidable sentences as well as the Liar paradox.
In a previous article, we discussed a paradox in Timaeus' cosmology: that there is no void inside the universe, even though it is entirely filled with polyhedra-a mathematical impossibility (Brisson-Ofman 2025). In the present article, we…
In this paper the claim that Zeno's paradoxes have been solved is contested. Although no one has ever touched Zeno without refuting him (Whitehead), it will be our aim to show that, whatever it was that was refuted, it was certainly not…
Comment on ``Understanding OR, PS and DR'' [arXiv:0804.2958]
The twin paradox is the best known thought experiment associated with Einstein's theory of relativity. An astronaut who makes a journey into space in a high-speed rocket will return home to find he has aged less than a twin who stayed on…
We give a short biographical sketch of Karl Weierstrass.
Quantum paradoxes are essential means to reveal the incompatibility between quantum and classical theories, among which the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) steering paradox offers a sharper criterion for the contradiction between…
This essay inquires how mathematical beings could be inserted into the architecture of modes of existence proposed by Bruno Latour in the framework of his pluralist and renewed ontology of the modern world. After a description of the…
Two types of approximation to the paradoxical Russell Set are presented, one approximating it from below, one from above. It is shown that any lower approximation gives rise to a better approximation containing it, and that any upper…
This paper collects some problems that I have encountered during the years, have puzzled me and which, to the best of my knowledge, are still open. Most of them are well-known and have been first stated by other authors. In this sad season…
The St. Petersburg paradox is the oldest paradox in decision theory and has played a pivotal role in the introduction of increasing concave utility functions embodying risk aversion and decreasing marginal utility of gains. All attempts to…
Some formulas and speculations are presented relative to integrable systems and quantum mechanics.
We suggest a forcing version of Yablo's paradox and discuss its implication on self-reference.
We construct games of chance from simpler games of chance. We show that it may happen that the simpler games of chance are fair or unfavourable to a player andyet the new combined game is favourable -- this is a counter-intuitive…
In number theory, the Erdos-Straus conjecture states that for all n >=2, the rational number 4/n can be expressed as the sum of three unit fractions. Paul Erdos and Ernst G. Straus formulated the conjecture in 1948. The restriction that the…
The EPR paradox dates back to 1935 when Einstein et al., through the use of non commuting operators, proposed that quantum mechanics was not complete in that it suggested a `spooky action at a distance.' Later in 1964 John Bell was able to…
The concept of uncertainty quanta for a general system is introduced and applied to some important problems in physics and mathematics. EPR paradox gives new clue to the further understanding of particle correlation which turns out to be…
We present a conclusive answer to Bertrand's paradox, a long standing open issue in the basic physical interpretation of probability. The paradox deals with the existence of mutually inconsistent results when looking for the probability…
This article proposes a unified analytical approach leading to a partial resolution of the Erdos-Straus, Sierpinski conjectures, and their generalization. We introduce an equivalent reformulation of these conjectures while constructing two…