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abstraction > theory related concept > problem > paradox > Olber's paradox |
Olber's paradox comparison table |
Subject | is an instance of | is a kind of | has definition |
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paradox | problem | A self-contradictory proposition. Paradoxes are most useful when they seem most likely to be true, for it is then that they best serve to expose flaws in the data or reasoning that led to their appearance. | |
Olber's paradox | paradox | A paradox formulated by the German astronomer Heinrich Olbers in 1826 that can be traced back to the writings of others, such as de Cheseaux, a century or more earlier. The paradox is: Why is the sky dark at night, if the universe is infinite? We now know that several of the assumptions made by Olbers (explicitly or implicitly) are incorrect. |
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