The Hard Problem

[Ayaan_817]

Person = Ø Hard Question = x = Hardest Question Easy Question = y = every question other than x

Suppose that Ø knows the answer to x but doesn’t know the answer y. Once Ø solves x, the second hardest question becomes x. Since Ø knows x’s answer, x is easy for him. But since Ø doesn’t know any y, Ø doesn’t know anything. So, no question is x but every question is y, right?

[Terrapin Station]

Say what?

First, I'm confused by your variables.

The person is Ø

The hard question is x

The "Hardest question easy question"??? is y? I guess you're saying that either the "hardest question" or an "easy question" can be y. Or in other words, y is every question that's harder or easier than x?

But then you're using the same variable, x, for multiple things.

"Once Ø solves x, the second hardest question becomes x."

X needs to refer to the same thing in both occurrences. So if Ø solved x, then x is done. X isn't also going to be something other than the first x.

I don't know, your post is a mess. You need to reword it.

The first big problem aside from that is, "What, exactly makes a question hard?" You'd need to define that somehow for it not to seem like an arbitrary, subjective designation.

[Ayaan_817]

I don't know, your post is a mess. You need to reword it.

I'm sorry for the inconvenience.
I'll post again

[Ayaan_817]

Person = Ø
Hard Question = x = Hardest Question
Easy Question = y = every question other than x

• Suppose that Ø knows the answer to x but doesn’t know the answer y.
  Once Ø solves x, the second hardest question becomes x.
  Since Ø knows x’s answer, x is easy for him.
  But since Ø doesn’t know any y, Ø doesn’t know anything.

So, no question is hard and every question is easy, right?

[Terrapin Station]

Person = Ø
Hard Question = x = Hardest Question
Easy Question = y = every question other than x

• Suppose that Ø knows the answer to x but doesn’t know the answer y.
  Once Ø solves x, the second hardest question becomes x.
  Since Ø knows x’s answer, x is easy for him.
  But since Ø doesn’t know any y, Ø doesn’t know anything.

So, no question is hard and every question is easy, right?

How does x equal two different things?

Or are you using something like a programming language abbreviation?

I don't know anything about programming languages, really.

[Count Lucanor]

Person = Ø
Hard Question = x = Hardest Question
Easy Question = y = every question other than x

• Suppose that Ø knows the answer to x but doesn’t know the answer y.
  Once Ø solves x, the second hardest question becomes x.
  Since Ø knows x’s answer, x is easy for him.
  But since Ø doesn’t know any y, Ø doesn’t know anything.

So, no question is hard and every question is easy, right?

A couple of problems with this: at first, X is seen as a constant and Y as a variable in function of that constant. But then, at the second part of the problem, X is treated as a variable, so you end up with a never ending loop between variables without a constant. Is one of those absurd paradoxes.

[evolution]

What is the answer to the question, What is the solution that will solve all of our problems?

This could be your 'x'.

Discover or learn the answer to this question, or discover or learn how to solve this problem which will provide you with the answer, which in turn will then answer and solve every other question and problem in Life, all of your 'y's'.

No 'y' would become an 'x' because ALL questions and problems can now be answered and solved.

Like someone somewhat pointed out already if 'x' is a constant, then 'y' will not become an 'x', when 'x' is answered. When 'x' is answered, then there are no hard questions ever again. ALL 'y's' (every other question) can be very easily answered once 'x' is answered.

[Ayaan_817]

X is seen as a constant and Y as a variable in function of that constant. But then, at the second part of the problem, X is treated as a variable, so you end up with a never ending loop between variables without a constant. Is one of those absurd paradoxes.

First of all, x is not a constant. It is the ‘hardest question’ which changes as someone solves the hardest question, the second hardest question becomes the hardest question. And of course, the definition for the hardest question depends from person to person.

The whole point here is the final sentence in the problem:

“No question is hard and every question is easy”

[Marvin_Edwards]

Hmm. Looks like a case of "a problem well defined is half-solved". Perhaps defining the problem is the hard problem.

[Count Lucanor]

X is seen as a constant and Y as a variable in function of that constant. But then, at the second part of the problem, X is treated as a variable, so you end up with a never ending loop between variables without a constant. Is one of those absurd paradoxes.

First of all, x is not a constant. It is the ‘hardest question’ which changes as someone solves the hardest question, the second hardest question becomes the hardest question. And of course, the definition for the hardest question depends from person to person.

The whole point here is the final sentence in the problem:

“No question is hard and every question is easy”

If X is not treated initially as a constant, then the next sentence would not be true: "Y = every question other than X". In this sentence, X must have a fixed value for Y to make sense, otherwise you would be saying: "Y = every question other than the value that X takes". At first, every other question includes those that were not the initial values of X, and yet they are passed to X, despite once being that every other question that excluded X. That's why you just constructed a never ending loop, which reaches false conclusions. There's also a lot of ambiguity in the terms used, used to exploit the paradox, for example, the value of X is told to be a type of question, but later X is said to be the solution to the question, in other words, X as the solution to X, and so on. A simple example shows this:

Let's say that the hardest question (X) is: "1+1?", and the second hardest question (Y) is "1+2?". If I solve the first hardest question, in what sense it stopped being the hardest question? If the criteria is that it has a solution, this does not preclude all the other questions from having a solution before the first was solved. So these could not be elevated to the position of "X, the hardest question". And the criteria must be something else if it is assumed that none of the questions in the set initially are unsolved. If they are all unsolved, what makes one the hardest question?

[LuckyR]

Person = Ø
Hard Question = x = Hardest Question
Easy Question = y = every question other than x

• Suppose that Ø knows the answer to x but doesn’t know the answer y.
  Once Ø solves x, the second hardest question becomes x.
  Since Ø knows x’s answer, x is easy for him.
  But since Ø doesn’t know any y, Ø doesn’t know anything.

So, no question is hard and every question is easy, right?

You aren't taking perspective into account. If a group decides what is x, but a different individual knows x but doesn't know y, then from that individual's perspective, x was not x, it was an example of y all along, and if that person would have been a member of the labeling group, that question would never have been selected to be x, it would have been one of the y's. Something else would have been x.

[Ayaan_817]

First of all, x is not a constant. It is the ‘hardest question’ which changes as someone solves the hardest question, the second hardest question becomes the hardest question. And of course, the definition for the hardest question depends from person to person.

The whole point here is the final sentence in the problem:

“No question is hard and every question is easy”

If X is not treated initially as a constant, then the next sentence would not be true: "Y = every question other than X". In this sentence, X must have a fixed value for Y to make sense, otherwise you would be saying: "Y = every question other than the value that X takes". At first, every other question includes those that were not the initial values of X, and yet they are passed to X, despite once being that every other question that excluded X. That's why you just constructed a never ending loop, which reaches false conclusions. There's also a lot of ambiguity in the terms used, used to exploit the paradox, for example, the value of X is told to be a type of question, but later X is said to be the solution to the question, in other words, X as the solution to X, and so on. A simple example shows this:

Let's say that the hardest question (X) is: "1+1?", and the second hardest question (Y) is "1+2?". If I solve the first hardest question, in what sense it stopped being the hardest question? If the criteria is that it has a solution, this does not preclude all the other questions from having a solution before the first was solved. So these could not be elevated to the position of "X, the hardest question". And the criteria must be something else if it is assumed that none of the questions in the set initially are unsolved. If they are all unsolved, what makes one the hardest question?

You're saying that once a question is solved and has a solution, it is no longer a question. This is not at all the criteria here. The criteria for a question is if a person knows the solution to the question, it is no longer a question to the person .The question is still a question to a person who doesn't know the answer to the question. And, if a person knows how to solve a question but hasn't solved it yet or doesn't know the solution, it's still a question to that person.

[Ayaan_817]

If a group decides what is x, but a different individual knows x but doesn't know y, then from that individual's perspective, x was not x, it was an example of y all along, and if that person would have been a member of the labeling group, that question would never have been selected to be x, it would have been one of the y's. Something else would have been x.

Let me explain again.

Consider a universe where the only organism is Ø and he has a set of questions. Ø knows the answer to the hardest question and doesn't know the answer to any other 'easy'(easy means all the questions other than the one which is hardest at the moment in the set) questions. ----- equation 1

Since Ø knows the solution(it doesn't matter how he gets these solutions) to the hardest question(hardest question means the question that is the hardest at the moment), it is 'easy' for him/her. But since he/she doesn't know the answer to any 'easy' question, he shouldn't know the answer to that question. But it is the hardest question, so he should know the answer to it, but he doesn't! Here is the paradox.

[Count Lucanor]

Ø knows the answer to the hardest question and doesn't know the answer to any other 'easy' questions.

Can you agree that what determines what is the hardest question or the easy questions is not whether a solution is known or not? They are simply the hard or easy questions for other reasons not stated in the problem, right?

[Ayaan_817]

Ø knows the answer to the hardest question and doesn't know the answer to any other 'easy' questions.

Can you agree that what determines what is the hardest question or the easy questions is not whether a solution is known or not? They are simply the hard or easy questions for other reasons not stated in the problem, right?

But if the reasons are not stated then it makes the problem even more confusing and on top of that, reasons differ from person to person.