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The Contradiction In The U.S. Constitution

less than 1m read
·Nov 10, 2024

Did you know that one of the greatest mathematicians of the 20th century discovered a logical contradiction in the US Constitution that, if found, could be used to legally change America's democracy into a dictatorship?

Well, he did, but we no longer know what it was. It's been called one of the great unsolved problems of constitutional law, but it's also known as Girdle's Loophole. In 1947, Kurt Girdle discovered the contradiction while studying for the American citizenship test. He told his friend Oscar Morganstern, and then Morganstern told Albert Einstein.

Both of them agreed that it probably wouldn't be exploited. Now, no one ever wrote it down, so we don't know what he had in mind. Was it something about the Electoral College, presidential pardons, or gerrymandering?

Well, there's been a lot of speculation, but I think one of the best guesses is this: Girdle's problem may have been that Article 5 could be seen as self-referential. It circumscribes how the Constitution can and cannot be changed, and yet Article 5 is also part of the Constitution.

If the rules about how the rules can be changed can themselves be changed, well then anything is not only possible or easy but legal. But really, no one knows.

Worked example: Product rule with table | Derivative rules | AP Calculus AB | Khan Academy
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