What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? What gives? Something must, right?

That is known as the irresistible force paradox.

The unstoppable force paradox, also called the irresistible force paradox, shield and spear paradox, is a classic paradox formulated as “What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?” The immovable object and the unstoppable force are both implicitly assumed to be indestructible, or else the question would have a trivial resolution.

If there is a fly in the ointment then there is a flaw in the argument.

The paradox arises because it rests on two incompatible premises—that there can exist simultaneously such things as unstoppable forces and immovable objects. The “paradox” is flawed because if there exists an unstoppable force, it follows logically that there cannot be any such thing as an immovable object and vice versa.

Is that paradox not akin to curing the incurable?

ALS is considered an incurable disease. Motor neurons die. Muscles stop working. The body dies. That seems simple enough. There is no cure.

Or, put another way, there is no known cure. Until there is a cure, ALS is incurable. The way the story goes is simple. If you are cured of ALS then it was not ALS.

Use Google as a verb and Google “ALS cure.” The first page of results will be explanations of ALS and how symptoms exhibit themselves and how they can be treated. After that, Google becomes a free for all for snake oil salesmen to bang their drums for cures; everything ranging from apple cider vinegar to stem cell therapy.

ALS remains incurable. Until there is a cure and the paradox is broken. Then the incurable becomes cured.

I’m waiting.