this post was submitted on 06 May 2025
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Science Memes

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[–] Reddfugee42@lemmy.world 99 points 2 months ago (37 children)

This is a self-referential paradox — a classic logic puzzle designed to be tricky. Let’s break it down:

Step-by-step analysis:

  1. How many choices? There are 4 possible answers, so if we pick one randomly, the chance of picking any specific one is 1 in 4 = 25%.

  2. How many answers say “25%”? Two.

  3. That means the probability of randomly choosing an answer that says “25%” is 2 in 4 = 50%.

  4. But if the correct answer is 50%, then only one option says “50%” — which is (c). So the probability of picking it at random is 1 in 4 = 25%, contradicting the idea that 50% is correct.

  5. If the correct answer is 25%, then two options say that — a and d. So the chance of picking one of those at random is 50%, not 25% — again a contradiction.

  6. Similarly, if 60% is correct (only one option), then the chance of picking it randomly is 25%, which again makes it incorrect.

Conclusion: Any choice leads to a contradiction. This is a self-referential paradox, meaning the question breaks logical consistency. There is no consistent correct answer.

[–] MrShankles@reddthat.com 4 points 2 months ago

I would think that if you truly pick at random, it's still a 25% chance no matter how you cut it

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