h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Would you two geniuses consider doing a Guide Entry about the Banach-Tarski Paradox? It has the advantage of mentioning the h2g2er's favourite subject, chocolate:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s86-Z-CbaHA

Not only is this paradox giving me a galaxy-sized headache, but it also justifies the following conversation *that actually took place in the early 1970s*.

Member of the university's student activities budget committee, weighing whether to fund our undergraduate science journal: I see from your proposal that you intend to cover the natural sciences.

Me: Yes. Chemistry, biology, physics, things like that. There's a list.

Member, etc: You don't include mathematics in your list.

Elektra, firmly: Mathematics is an *unnatural* science.

(We got the funding anyway.)

I refuse to tackle mathematical subjects, as even if I manage to grasp the concept, I will make a dog's dinner of it because I am innumerate.

I have to say that I fail to understand why this is referred to as a paradox; surely it's either possible or not possible unlike, for example, the Russell-Zermelo paradox where both results are necessary and contradictory.

Good point. Maybe the maths gurus will explain this for us?

I just thought it was a paradox because it only made sense in mathematics, not RL. But what do I know?