Crocodile Paradox
Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30
CORE DEFINITION
A crocodile steals a child and says to the mother: "If you guess correctly whether I will eat him, I will release him." The mother says: "You will eat him." The crocodile falls into a logical loop: if it eats, the mother guessed correctly, so by the promise it should release; if it releases, the mother guessed wrong, so by the promise it should eat.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
Logical kidnapping. In games, sometimes one can construct a self-referential logical trap (predicting the opponent's behavior and making it a condition) so that whatever the opponent does violates their own rules, thereby locking down their actions.
Anchor fast decisions
The Crocodile Paradox is a self-referential variant of the liar paradox: a crocodile takes a child and promises "If you guess what I will do, I will return him." The parent guesses "You will not return him." If the crocodile returns him, the guess is wrong, so by the promise it should not return; if it does not return, the guess is correct, so by the promise it should return—leading to a contradiction. It reveals the logical loop where promise and prediction lock each other.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/3Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
- en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crocodile_dilemmaverified
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