The king of a distant island decrees that all men living on the island must be clean-shaven. In each town there is to be employed one barber, who must shave all the men in the town, and only those men, who do not shave themselves.
However, something is wrong. It becomes known that barbers all over the island are not doing their jobs properly. Many of the barbers are shaving themselves, which they are not allowed to do since they are among the people who shave themselves. However, those barbers who do not shave themselves are also in trouble, since they consequently have to shave themselves. The king finally sees that the scheme isn’t working, and decides to abandon it.
However, the king is then urged to reconsider the scheme. Somebody wishes to become a barber, and claims to be able to take on the duty without any difficulty. How?
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