The Tristram Shandy Paradox
A man writes his autobiography but keeps falling behind. If he had infinite time, would he ever catch up?
1759 (novel), 1903 (paradox formulated)8 min read
British literature
Laurence Sterne
1713 – 1768
Irish-born English novelist whose eccentric masterpiece, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman (published in volumes from 1759 to 1767), introduced the narrator who cannot finish his own autobiography because writing about his life takes longer than living it. The novel's preoccupation with time, memory, and the impossibility of complete self-narration gave Bertrand Russell the vehicle for a paradox about infinite sets: if Tristram had infinite time, could he eventually finish? The novel is now recognised as a forerunner of modernist fiction.