Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

potato paradox

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.51 in modern English

Syllables
pota-to -para-dox
IPA
25
Scrabble Score
13
Letters
4
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A calculation having a counterintuitive result: "Fred brings home 100 kg of potatoes, which consist of 99% water. He then leaves them outside overnight so that they consist of 98% water. What is their new weight?" The surprising answer is 50 kg.

noun

The paradoxical nature of Giffen goods, where people consume more as the price rises.

Etymology

(economics): In reference to the 1845 Irish famine, when potatoes became expensive. It has been argued that poorer families, who habitually ate more potatoes, ended up having to consume even more of them, since the higher prices made it even harder to afford any other goods.

Inflected Forms

potato paradoxes (plural)

Questions

What does potato paradox mean?
A calculation having a counterintuitive result: "Fred brings home 100 kg of potatoes, which consist of 99% water. He then leaves them outside overnight so that they consist of 98% water. What is their new weight?" The surprising answer is 50 kg.
Where does potato paradox come from?
(economics): In reference to the 1845 Irish famine, when potatoes became expensive. It has been argued that poorer families, who habitually ate more potatoes, ended up having to consume even more of them, since the higher prices made it even harder to afford any other goods.

How to pronounce potato paradox

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