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Scientific Paradoxes

  • Peto's Paradox - Large animals like elephants should have much higher cancer rates (more cells = more chances for can...

  • Efficient Market Paradox - If markets are perfectly efficient, there's no point analyzing stocks. But if nobody analyzes, marke...

  • Tolerance Paradox - A tolerant society must be intolerant of intolerance, otherwise the intolerant will destroy toleranc...

  • Algol Paradox - In binary star systems, the less massive star appears older, contradicting stellar evolution....

  • GZK Paradox - Cosmic rays with energies exceeding theoretical limits have been detected....

  • Paradox of Youth - Young stars exist near the galactic center where star formation should be impossible....

  • Bentley's Paradox - In Newtonian gravity, an infinite uniform universe would collapse to a single point....

  • Observer Effect Paradox - The act of measurement changes what is being measured....

  • Air Conditioning Paradox - Cooling buildings contributes to heating the planet....

  • Boltzmann Brain - Random quantum fluctuation creating a brain is more likely than ordered universe evolution....

  • Levinthal's Paradox - Proteins fold in milliseconds despite astronomical number of possible configurations....

  • C-Value Paradox - Genome size doesn't correlate with organism complexity - an onion has more DNA than humans....

  • Gray's Paradox - Dolphins achieve high speeds with seemingly insufficient muscle power....

  • Plankton Paradox - Many phytoplankton species coexist despite competing for same resources (violates competitive exclus...

  • Pesticide Paradox - Pesticide use can actually increase pest populations by killing natural predators....

  • Enrichment Paradox - Adding nutrients to an ecosystem can cause species extinction....

  • Hormesis Paradox - Small doses of toxins can be beneficial while larger doses are harmful....

  • Lek Paradox - Female mate choice should erode genetic variance, yet it persists....

  • Lombard's Paradox - Hamstrings and quadriceps contract simultaneously during squats....

  • Glucose Paradox - Liver stores more glycogen than can be explained by glucose uptake....