6 Famous Thought Experiments That You Need To Try

Before we had telescopes and other gadgets that we could use to find the exact answers scientists and philosophers were looking for, we had thought experiments. These were almost simplistic, commonsensical riddles, that were used to invigorate the mind and find logical solutions to complex problems. Thought experiments formed the basis for the hypothesis of a lot of famous theories from the past. It is a good way to use our mind to test the merit of ideas without getting any science behind it. Here is a list of 6 thought experiments that you can try for yourself.


6. Galileo’s Gravity Experiment

This was was created by one of the most famous astronomers in history – Galileo. Imagine if two objects, one light and another heavy, are tied to one another and dropped off a tower. Do they objects slow each other down while falling, or do they become faster due to the cumulative weight?


5. The Cow In The Field

A farmer is worried about his prize cow. The milkman assures the farmer that he did in fact spot the cow in the field. The farmer decides to take a look for himself and manages to spot the cow at a distance. After a while, the milkman returns and spots the cow again, but this time upon closer inspection, he realizes that what he saw was not the cow, but a black and white paper stuck in the tree. After looking a little longer, he manages to see the cow in the distance. The milkman is sure that the farmer spotted the paper and assumed it to be the cow. The question here is, even though the cow was in the field, was the farmer correct in thinking it was there?


4. The Train Problem

This one was devised to observe the nature of moral decisions. Imagine a madman has taken five victims hostage and placed them on a track where an out-of-control train is hurtling towards them. You have a leaver in your hand that can direct the trolley into another track, but the track has another person tied to it. Would you kill five people to save the life of one person? This experiment was created to show the nature of moral decisions and highlight the fact that there are no easy answers. You will, at the end of the day, be directly responsible for at least one death.


3. The Ship Of Theseus

This is one of the oldest thought experiments of all-time. Imagine if a new ship has set sail around the world and returns to port after several months. This ship has to undergo severe maintenance, during which lots of its original parts are removed. This happens to the ship several times over the course of many years. The question here is, after all these years, is this ship the same ship that set sail in the beginning?


2. Ticking Time Bomb

This one is strongly grounded in morality. There is a ticking time bomb somewhere in the city, and you have with you the only person who knows where it is. Would you resort to torturing that person in order to get the information you require?


1. Monkeys And Typewriters

This is called the infinite monkey theorem and is used to discuss the probabilities of possibilities. If an infinite number of monkeys were allowed to press an infinite number of keys on a typewriter for an infinite amount of time, would they be able to recreate the works of Shakespeare?