The Paradox of the Timeless Scroll:


Description:

Imagine a scroll that contains a detailed account of all future events in a certain city, including everything that will happen from today until the end of time. The scroll is said to be perfectly accurate and unchanging. One day, someone reads the scroll and discovers that in exactly one year from today, a specific event will occur—let's call it Event X. The reader then realizes that their knowledge of Event X might alter the outcome, since knowing the future could influence their actions.


Paradox:

If the reader’s knowledge of Event X causes them to change their behavior or take actions to prevent or alter Event X, this new behavior could potentially alter the future events as recorded on the scroll. If the scroll is accurate and unchangeable, then the changes in behavior should not alter the predetermined future. This leads to a contradiction: either the reader’s knowledge changes the outcome (which contradicts the scroll’s infallibility), or the scroll is accurate and nothing can change (which implies that the reader’s actions are futile and the future is fixed).


Explanation:

The paradox highlights a conflict between determinism and the impact of foreknowledge. On one hand, if the scroll is infallible, then every event is fixed and unchangeable, making any attempts to alter the future ineffective. On the other hand, if knowing the future can change one’s actions, then the future is not predetermined, contradicting the nature of the scroll. This paradox raises questions about the nature of time, free will, and the limits of knowledge.