A riddle without an answer....

[IDLEchild]

...is it a riddle then???

I know it sounds retarded but is a riddle that has no answer, no solution, no logical outcome considered a riddle then or merely a saying that is meant as a teaching or something else.

Doesn't it basically achieve the same status as How many roads must a man walk before he can become a man? They both maybe wise in their existence but they have no real answers.

Also riddles involving math and logic....if they have no answers then aren't they just anomalies?

rid·dle2 P Pronunciation Key (rdl)
n.
A question or statement requiring thought to answer or understand; a conundrum.
One that is perplexing; an enigma.

v. rid·dled, rid·dling, rid·dles
v. tr.
To solve or explain.

v. intr.
To propound or solve riddles.
To speak in riddles.

To solve or explain? doesn't that rule out riddles with no answers as not being riddles but more or less questions that lead to no where?

I know, it is pretty weak substance but i put forth the question.

What do you think?

 

[tonksy]

riddles without solutions are called problems.

 

[IDLEchild]

riddles without solutions are called problems.

Not neccessarily.....problems have solutions....

 

[tonksy]

everything has a solution...we just don't know how to find all the answers.

 

[IDLEchild]

everything has a solution...we just don't know how to find all the answers.

You bring me back to my original question if it has a solution then it is a riddle.....if it doesn't then is it a riddle? can it still be given the status of a riddle if it seems to point to a lesson but has no specific answer?

 

[tonksy]

You bring me back to my original question if it has a solution then it is a riddle.....if it doesn't then is it a riddle? can it still be given the status of a riddle if it seems to point to a lesson but has no specific answer?

yes. mankind has a way of thinking that if they can't explain it away it is an anomoly.....we just don't know the answer yet....hell, we used to think the world was flat, you know. we still have a lot of questions left unanswered that in 100 years will seem so obvious*shrugs*

 

[Inkara1]

I know of a cure-all solution for any riddle or problem you might have... but everyone else would just tell you it's a permanent solution to a temporary problem.

 

[tonksy]

I know of a cure-all solution for any riddle or problem you might have... but everyone else would just tell you it's a permanent solution to a temporary problem.

fuck it?

 

[IDLEchild]

yes. mankind has a way of thinking that if they can't explain it away it is an anomoly.....we just don't know the answer yet....hell, we used to think the world was flat, you know. we still have a lot of questions left unanswered that in 100 years will seem so obvious*shrugs*

This is not what i was asking. I am not talking about scientific knowledge in particular. Anamolies do exist in math whether they aren't eventually solved or not I don't know but I was talking about riddles in general.

If it doesn't have an answer then is it a riddle?

I know of a cure-all solution for any riddle or problem you might have... but everyone else would just tell you it's a permanent solution to a temporary problem.

I believe he meant suicide.

 

[Gonz]

hell, we used to think the world was flat,

There's a riddle. Did we, as a civilization, actually believe that? When? Look at the great scupltures from ancient Greece. What shape was teh object help bt Atlas?

A riddle with no answer is a conundrum. Or just silly nonsense. A riddle that has no answer at present but one may or will present itself is called scientific work.

 

[tonksy]

ooooh....conundrum is a good word...btw gonz....that world flat thing was just an off the top of my head thing...i have no proof that people believed it...and i really don't care

 

[MrBishop]

I think that you're thinking of a parable. A short story or statement with a moral, or which is meant to make you think or rethink your situation without actually answering the question. It doesn't need an answer in this case. A riddle is a mental game. Ther has to be an answer if it's meant to test the intellect or imagination of the subject.

 

[The_Lost_Enigma]

Yes, a riddle has to have an answer, you may not understand the answer, you may not think there is an answer, but there most likely is. If there is no possible answer than its just a stupid question, and call the person that asked you it a moron, or a dumbass, both good.

Now that I think about it, there is an answer to any question, if there is no answer, then the answer is there is no answer, but that's getting technical. For your general riddle like, if a tree falls in the woods with nobody around, does it make a sound, there is a answer, but that is not a good example cause there's no way to prove ect.

 

[a13antichrist]

A riddle without an answer is a rhetorical question.

Whether you choose to group that under riddles or separate it is up to you.

 

[IDLEchild]

A riddle without an answer is a rhetorical question.

Whether you choose to group that under riddles or separate it is up to you.

Thank you.....this is what i was looking for.

 

[Squiggy]

Now...theres a riddle without an answer.....

 

[tadrlz]

When a tree falls in the woods, there will always be a sound due to friction, sound waves and the reality of our physical world. Whether any other living being is around is completely irrelevant. word

 

[Squiggy]

The problem comes in the definition...

Sound is that which is heard.

 

[a13antichrist]

I don't think I've ever met anyone retarded enough to define sound like that. Sound is a physical phenomenon, like light. If the sun rises on a planet with no life around to see it, does it really light up the planet? Pffft. Don't be ridiculous.

If you leave a tap dripping in the sink, does it stop making a sound if you walk off and leave it? If you turn on a light an a dark broom closet, does it go dark again if you leave the house?

 

[Bungi]

I don't think I've ever met anyone retarded enough to define sound like that. Sound is a physical phenomenon, like light. If the sun rises on a planet with no life around to see it, does it really light up the planet? Pffft. Don't be ridiculous.

If you leave a tap dripping in the sink, does it stop making a sound if you walk off and leave it? If you turn on a light an a dark broom closet, does it go dark again if you leave the house?

[Nerd Comment]Have you ever read anything about quantum physics? If not you should, nothing exists unless it is observed. Despite how stupid that sounds, its seems to be the best description of our reality. [/Nerd Comment]

As for riddles, 'could Jesus microwave a burrito so hot that He Himself could not eat it?' or, the more traditional version, 'can God create a rock that He cannot lift?'