You are on notice.
Restrain yourself or your answers will be removed from the forum and all your efforts will be for nought!
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My Lady Guinevere, I made no disparaging slight against the court jester in this post. Your lowly servant only disagreed with the supposition that the barber be a child.
Please, I pray thee spare mine head. Morgan le Fay hath vexed me, and placed a cursed upon me, compelling an allergy of severity that manifests itself when dense fog or something close it is near to thine kingdom.
Could you spare a kerchief?
Your lowly servant,
Morgan Tud
+128406 A famous question in Zen practice........it's the dichotomy of "two and one". We understand "duality." What then, is "non-duality??"
I'll answer your question if you will answer mine......
In a certain village, every man who doesn't shave himself is shaved by the barber.
The question is.....Who shaves the barber??
For, if he doesn't shave himself, then he is shaved by himself. And, if he does shave himself, then he is not shaved by himself.......
+1006 @CPhill The barber is a young child with a steady hand, and thus has not reached the age where he is ready to shave himself.
+128406 Good answer, GoldenLeaf !!!
Now...as to your question......in Zen practice, the answerer is not expected to always give an answer. In fact, there may BE no answer. Contemplation about the answer is sometimes more important that the "correct" answer itself.
I'm still contemplating...........
More sounds of BS happening ….
The barber is a young child with a steady hand … by GoldenLeaf
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A young child is not a man, GoldenLeaf.
(Oh, the barber could be a woman. Again, the barber is defined as a man. But if she is trans-gender, she might need a barber. This can go on for a long time).
This paradox, though Zen-like, is a actually a construct to explain Russell's Paradox. The structure of the argument is set to create a circular paradox.
Consider Russell's Paradox:
Define Naive Set Theory (NST) as the theory of predicate logic with a binary predicate 
and the following axiom schema of unrestricted comprehension (an impossible task, for most humans):
for any formula P with only the variable x free. Substitute 
for 
. Then by existential instantiation (reusing the symbol y) and universal instantiation we have
a contradiction. Therefore NST is inconsistent.
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This is not a solution for the Zen-like question, but it begins to show why there may not be a (non-quantum) solution.
There is a legend this circular argument came from Sir Cumference of the Round Table, after hearing of a brave knight who wished to serve his king:
So there was this knight, Sir Lancelot, and he was summoned by King Arthur to deliver an important message to the neighboring kingdom and told him to saddle up a horse and ride.
Sir Lancelot says, “But your highness, it' s thundering and raining and lightning outside.
”But,” the king says, “it’s important and you must go.“
Sir Lancelot goes to the stables, but finds no horses, just a large Great Dane. He reports back to King Arthur with the Great Dane in tow and says, “Sire, there are no horses, but if you want me to, I will saddle up this Great Dane and ride out into the storm.”
“Never mind,” says King Arthur, “I wouldn’t send a knight out on a dog like this.”
A circular pun leads to a circular paradox.
+118608 It would have been a really good answer if it didn't contain the slight against GoldenLeaf.
You are on notice.
Restrain yourself or your answers will be removed from the forum and all your efforts will be for nought!
You are on notice.
Restrain yourself or your answers will be removed from the forum and all your efforts will be for nought!
----
My Lady Guinevere, I made no disparaging slight against the court jester in this post. Your lowly servant only disagreed with the supposition that the barber be a child.
Please, I pray thee spare mine head. Morgan le Fay hath vexed me, and placed a cursed upon me, compelling an allergy of severity that manifests itself when dense fog or something close it is near to thine kingdom.
Could you spare a kerchief?
Your lowly servant,
Morgan Tud
+118608 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgan_Tud
You see yourself as court physician? Do you treat anaemia with leaches?
+118608 In many cultures a 13 year old is considered a man.
Thus the man may indeed be prepubescent.
Perhaps GoldenLeaf may consider such a 'man' a young boy. But in this instance it is not GoldenLeaf's interpretation but the attitiude of the society that the 13year old lives in that is of consequence. Hence, GoldenLeaf's solution to the dilemma is perfectly valid!
You see yourself as court physician? Do you treat anaemia with leaches?
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Sometimes with leaches, other times I use a barber’s razor. It’s effective for many things, except Dense Fog, M’ Lady.
In many cultures a 13 year old is considered a man ...
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Perhaps, M’ Lady. However in this culture, a man must shave or be shaved. The inscription do sayth accordingly.
+118608 It is not proper for a lowly servant to contradict the lady of the land !!
My husband, King Arthur, is eager for another head to hang in the royal court.
It will serve as a deterent for other potentially disrespectful lowly servants!
Lady Guinevere.
... King Arthur, is eager for another head to hang in the royal court. By Lady Guinevere
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Your Highness, if I may, there is a much better head for His Majesty to hang in the royal court.
Sir Cumference of the Round Table. He’s the sorcerer who started this paradox of contradiction.
Yea, Sir CPhill, whom His Majesty hath just Knighted, stood as a guard to the chambers of the Knights and did witness the circular pun and the leads to a circular paradox by Sir Cumference.
Sir Cumference’s head would grace the yard of the Royal Court, much more than your lowly servant.
Indeed, Your Highness, Sir CPhill would be pleased to lob off the sorcerer’s head, for it was he, who, by trickery and deceit, sent Sir Cphill to find the Roman zero in the Bolder of Sisyphus.
I pray thee, consider my petition, and count me worthy to live.
Your lowly servant,
Morgan Tud
