>[!abstract] >A classic paradox formulated as "What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?" The immovable object and the unstoppable force are both implicitly assumed to be indestructible, or else the question would have a trivial resolution. Furthermore, it is assumed that they are two entities. The paradox arises because it rests on two incompatible premises—that there can exist simultaneously such things as unstoppable forces and immovable objects. ("Irresistible force paradox", 2025). >[!example] >An example of this paradox in eastern thought can be found in the origin of the Chinese word for contradiction (矛盾 / máodùn; literally "spear-shield"). This term originates from a story in the 3rd century BC philosophical book Han Feizi. In the story, a man trying to sell a spear and a shield claimed that his spear could pierce any shield, and then claimed that his shield was unpierceable. Then, asked about what would happen if he were to take his spear to strike his shield, the seller could not answer. This led to the idiom of "zìxīang máodùn" (自相矛盾, "from each-other spear shield"), or "self-contradictory". ("Irresistible force paradox", 2025). ## References - Irresistible force paradox. (2025, January 28). In *Wikipedia*. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Irresistible_force_paradox&oldid=1268603276 Related - [[Teumessian fox]]