It is an old tale and a puzzle. In a town somewhere in the wilds of northern Alaska there lives a barber. This barber shaves every man who does not shave himself. An excellent barber he is, and the only barber in his region. People come from miles around to get a shave from him, He has hardly any time for himself. But it is a puzzlement. Who shaves the barber? It is apparent that he is indeed well-groomed and shaved, and yet the more clever of the townsfolk reasoned as follows: If he does not shave himself then he must shave himself, for he shaves all those who do not shave themselves. This is a contradiction. Therefore he shaves himself. But he cannot shave himself since he shaves only those who do not shave themselves! That too is a contradiction. What is to be done here? The barber is a contradiction. Can he even exist in a logical world?
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