The Pinocchio paradox was thought of in February 2001 by an 11-year-old called Veronique Eldridge-Smith – the daughter of Peter Eldridge-Smith, who specializes in the philosophy of logic. The article was first published in the journal Analysis, and the Pinocchio paradox rapidly became popular on the Internet.
The paradox consists in Pinocchio saying ´My nose will grow now´. Pinocchio’s nose grows when he tells a lie, so if he said ‘my nose will grow now’ – if his nose does grow that would mean he wasn’t lying, but if he wasn’t lying, his nose wouldn’t grow.. but then his statement would be a lie… so his nose would grow.. but then the statement wouldn’t be a lie… so his nose wouldn’t grow…
