The Grandfather Paradox: A Philosophical Nightmare

What is it?

Ah, the Grandfather Paradox. That most confounding of conundrums. A thought experiment so delightfully dreadful, it's enough to drive a temporal logician to the brink of madness.

For those unfamiliar with this existential horror, the Grandfather Paradox is a thought experiment posited by the inimitable René Descartes (not the cheese). It goes like this:

You go back in time and kill your own grandfather before he has children. What happens?

Sounds simple enough, doesn't it? You'd think it's just a matter of time-traveling back, popping off your unsuspecting progenitor, and then returning to the present, problem averted. But no. It's not so simple. You see, by killing your grandfather, you'd never have been born. Never had children of your own. Never, therefore, killed your grandfather.

And there you are, stuck in an infinite loop of non-being. A temporal paradox so elegant, it'll make your head spin.

What happens next? →