The paradox of Buridan's Ass goes like this:An ass placed evenly between two stacks of hay of equal size and quality will starve to death since he cannot make a rational decision to start eating one rather than the other.
The illustration originated from 14th century philosopher Jean Buridan, but the idea traces all the way back to Aristotle. Still, the most curious thoughts on the subject come through a well thought article by American computer scientist Dr. Leslie Lamport. He notes:
"Philosophers have discussed Buridan's ass for centuries, but it apparently never occurred to any of them that the planet is not littered with dead asses only because the probability of the ass being in just the right spot is infinitesimal."
This showcases the problem of indecision. Two options of precise equality are, at best, extremely rare. So choose. As Lamport points out:
"While it takes an ass days to starve, a few seconds of indecision at a railway crossing can be fatal."
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