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Ok, first off this thread is going here in conversation because the subject is utterly trivial, with absolutely no merit - intellectual or other wise - to it...
...however, it has regardless formed the basis of a long running divergence of opinion between a friend and myself.
The crux of the problem lies around Alexander's famed cutting of the Gordian Knot, and, more importantly, whether or not he cheated, or whether the act solved the problem of the Knot.
For the doubtless very few of you who might not be aware of what the hell Tez is babbling about, more on the history of the Gordian Knot can be found here.
Now, I personally hold that Alexander - himself a student of Aristotle and so no stranger to logic problems - did solve the problem. True, he did not untie the knot, as was perhaps expected of him, but he did loose it. Not only that but, as the legend states, Zeus was so impressed at old Alex being the only man to have shown anything even approaching original thought, that he made the prophecy of the Knot come true.
Said friend however, holds the opposite view. He believes that the only way to solve the Gordian Knot would have been to untie it (which, incidentally, was considered to be impossible due to the nature of the Knot's construction).
So, where do you stand? Was the cutting of the Knot a true 'solution' to the problem, or did old Alex basically cheat? |
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