One of my favorite authors is a man named, Raymond Smullyan who is best known for his Alice in Wonderland approach to logic. He turns recursivity back upon itself and makes even the notion of a paradox paradoxical. Among his simplest riddles is the one below which I think would make a great exercise for aspiring libertarians to understand how we understand responsibility.
At a desert oasis, A and B decide independently to murder C. A poisons C’s canteen, and later B punches a hole in it. C dies of thirst. Who killed him?
A argues that C never drank the poison. B claims that he only deprived C of poisoned water. They’re both right, but still C is dead. Who’s guilty?
Puts all those silly Analog Dilemmas to shame.
