bootstrap paradox

English

Etymology

Compare bootstrap, pull oneself up by one's bootstraps, etc.

Noun

bootstrap paradox (plural bootstrap paradoxes)

1. A time travel paradox in which the consequences of an event in the future travel back in time and cause an event in the past or present, which in turn is among the causes of the first event, forming a causal loop in which each event is caused by the other.

   Synonym: causal loop paradox

See also

• causal loop
• grandfather paradox