Category: Paul’s Puzzles

28th June 19

Paul’s Puzzles this week are: Either If there are other intelligent creatures in the universe or another parallel universe, will they have the same times tables as we have? (Is it possible that there are other mathematical universes?) Or Do numbers actually exist? Are there lots of twos/2s or just one/1 two/2, REPRESENTED by the…

7th June 19

Either Is it wrong to be preoccupied by a politician’s haircut (Trump? Boris Johnson?) or does it symbolise something about their values and beliefs? Or Why are yawning and sneezing such fun? (I have experienced both this morning and the pleasure is transcendental!) Or Is a headache the same as a brainache? Where exactly is…

24th May 19

Either Theresa May cried in her farewell speech when referring to the country she says she loves. What does it actually mean to love your country? Given that where you are born, in one sense, is a matter of chance, isn’t it a bit odd; or, is it true that you are in some deep…

17th May 19

Either What’s in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet; Is that really true? How do things get the names they do? Are all objects named randomly? Congratulations to Drama Club for the superb production of R & J this week. Or I have needed glasses…

10th May 19

Either Do I really understand how a mirror and the still surface of a lake, reflect? Do you? Why are both so beautiful and arresting? (Today, I also remembered the first time my dog as a puppy barked madly at his reflection in glass. I couldn’t really explain his error to him.) Or Do birds…

3rd May 19

Either Why is that we are considered virtuous if we ban chemical weapons yet are not correspondingly vilified for keeping nuclear weapons? Given neither can discriminate the innocent from the guilty, doesn’t it look as if we should ban and detest both? Or I still cannot understand or comprehend why some things taste good and…

26th April 19

Paul’s Puzzles this week are: Either Should we be pleased and reassured, or, really worried that people cry during Avengers Endgame? (I loved it but isn’t is utter tosh?) Or Is rebuilding a beautiful medieval cathedral with millions of pounds, (if not a billion), more important than directing such money used, to building hospitals or…

5th April 19

Either The bitterly cold weather hit us the day after we declared British Summer Time: how far do seasons shape our character and emotions? Would I be different if had grown up in Iceland? The Sahara? Rhyl? California? Or A biography has just been published on one of my favourite philosophers: Kierkegaard. He once wrote…

29th March 19

Either Why do people worry so much about our how their hair looks? (I never know what to say when a barber or hairdresser asks for an assessment of their cut or how I would like it ‘styled at the back’. The cost of haircuts strikes me as bizarre.) Or Why is chasing shadows and…

25th March 19

Either The Junior House staff room has a toaster which was a gift from grateful parents. Almost every member of staff comments on how powerful and evocative is the smell of toast! How can we explain why particular smells and fragrances have such an impact? Toast and marmite are far less expensive than Chanel No…