Thomson's lamp

English

Etymology

The idea was devised in 1954 by British philosopher James F. Thomson.

Proper noun

Thomson's lamp

  1. (philosophy) A hypothetical lamp in a philosophical paradox. The lamp is repeatedly turned on and off by means of a switch; at the end of this time period, regarded as the sum of an infinite series of intervals, it seems paradoxically that the lamp cannot be either on or off.
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