What is a paradox, in simple terms?

Question

What is a paradox, in simple terms?

Answer 1

a contradiction, a situation where all of the elements cannot be true or real, there are mutually incompatible aspects of the situation.  No matter what choice is made, somewhere you will discover a falsehood, something that cannot be.

The paradox lies in the fact that the situation appears to be true, is based on all true things and thus should be able to exist but cannot because a conflict in reality or truth will arise from the situation.

Answer 2

a statement that contradicts itself; `I always lie' is a paradox because if it is true it must be false

Answer 3

Something that doesn't add up

Answer 4

We had a veterinarian who made a remark about our two dogs being like Snow White's dwarves Happy and Bashful. Then he said that I should have included him as another dwarf, Doc. Having a Ph. D. myself, I told him that I couldn't do that because then we'd have a pair o' docs.

Answer 5

A contradictory situation. Where "true" and "false" can both or neither be applied to a statement.

Answer 6

contraindication

Answer 7

A paradox can be an apparently true statement or group of statements that leads to a contradiction or a situation which defies intuition; or it can be, seemingly opposite, an apparent contradiction that actually expresses a non-dual truth (cf. Koan). Typically, either the statements in question do not really imply the contradiction, the puzzling result is not really a contradiction, or the premises themselves are not all really true or cannot all be true together. The word paradox is often used interchangeably with contradiction. Often, mistakenly, it is used to describe situations that are ironic.

Answer 8

It's a statement that sounds contradicting at first, but the more you think about it, more it makes sense and sounds profoundingly true. :D