The History of the Koan

[jason1990]

Long ago, buddhist monks would present their students with important puzzles. These puzzles had right and wrong answers and were meant to be solved. But year after year, new students would come and the monks had to explain and re-explain the solutions to these puzzles to every generation. (Note that this was before the days of FAQs.) The monks would talk their heads off, sometimes spelling out in gruesome detail the solutions to these puzzles, yet the students still would not "get it". Out of frustration, the monks began the tradition of the koan by declaring these puzzles unsolvable and chastising their students for trying to apply their rational mind to solving them. Once they did this, the monks were able to get some much needed rest and to devote their time to their research.

In the grand tradition of this history, I now declare the envelope puzzle, the Monty Hall problem, and all of the mathematics of Deal or No Deal to be koans. May you all reach enlightenment!