Word: paradox (noun)

Associations

A paradox is a statement or situation that seems to contradict itself but may still be true or make sense in a deeper way.

• "This is the paradox of choice: having too many options can make decisions harder." Here, the idea is that more choice should be better, but it can cause confusion.
• "The paradox of time travel stories is that changing the past can create logical problems." This shows how a story can have conflicting ideas.
• "It’s a paradox that the more connected we are online, the more isolated some people feel." This points out a surprising truth. A well-known synonym is "contradiction," but a paradox often has a deeper or more complex meaning, while a contradiction is simply two things that cannot both be true.

Substitution

You can sometimes use:

• contradiction (but this is more direct and less subtle)
• irony (if the paradox is about an unexpected result)
• puzzle or mystery (if the paradox is confusing or hard to understand) Changing the word changes the tone: paradox suggests something puzzling but meaningful, contradiction is more about clear opposition.

Deconstruction

The word "paradox" comes from Greek:

• "para-" means "beside" or "against"
• "dox" comes from "doxa," meaning "opinion" or "belief" So paradox means "against opinion" or "contrary to common belief," which fits its meaning of something surprising or opposite to what we expect.

Inquiry

• Can you think of a paradox in your life or culture?
• How might a paradox make a story or idea more interesting?
• Why do you think people enjoy thinking about paradoxes even if they are confusing?