Skip to content
INFINITE SUM
← Paradoxes & riddles

1:16

The Barber's Paradox

Russell's Paradox in everyday clothes

A barber who shaves everyone who does NOT shave themselves — does he shave himself? Either answer breaks the rule. Bertrand Russell used exactly this shape to break naive set theory.

Source: Bertrand Russell's Paradox (1901), dramatized

Want another one?

Type the name of a paradox or riddle you've heard of, or browse the rest of the archive.