The paradox of giants

Galileo argued that the giants of folklore, taking human form but at much larger scale, are physically impossible. Similar ideas will lead us to many other paradoxes of dimension.

According to legend, giants once roamed the Earth. Odysseus encounters the Cyclops, the one-eyed son of Poseidon, living in a huge cavern, hungry and angry—he grasps men and sheep in one hand, devouring them whole. In the days of King Arthur, a clever young boy earns the title Jack the Giant Killer, using his sharp wit to outsmart and slay the various g…