The more we know, the more we understand that we don't know. This ever-evident paradox consistently grows as the universe itself continues to as well. The seemingly illogical nature of the world at large is filled with paradoxes that continue to add a sense of bewilderment, spice, and excitement to the human experience from many perspectives. A paradox's correlation to a contradiction is like an oxymoron with logic. These concepts can be seen throughout nature and within ourselves.
Simply by understanding the essence of a paradox, sheds light on much of the mystery of life. "The man that knows something knows that he knows nothing at all," grants a fundamental understanding to reality as contradictory as its surface may seem. They give a sense dynamic plasticity of the world as we navigate it day by day. Personally, paradoxes allowed me to understand the nature of polarity; to understand or get to know almost anything, polar opposites allow contrasts to apply meaning. "Would you know a star if it was wasn't for the darkness surrounding it?," as Alan Watts said in many of his lectures.
Before college I was embarrassed to contradict myself and went to great measures in my reasoning to avoid doing so. Soon I realized contradicting myself was part of growing up; abandoning fallacious ideas I would prose, pontificate, and live out. I am glad to contradict my previous self when appropriate or to improve even through the myriad of alter-egos that are the dynamics of my social life. I'm finding contradictions crucial towards the unfolding of this human experience; in the natural order of changing as things change and learning as we grow.
As far as oxymorons... boiled down to me, they are just bad reasoning without proper logic.
What are your favorite paradoxes?