bootstrap paradox

noun

bootstrap paradox

noun

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

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.

Related terms
causal loop, grandfather paradox

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.