Algernon. It is awfully hard work doing nothing.
–The Importance of Being Earnest,
Oscar Wilde
Which statement best explains the paradox in this line?
No one would agree that doing nothing is hard work, so the statement is clearly meant as a joke.
Algernon thinks that doing nothing is hard work, but he does not actually know what hard work is like.
Doing nothing seems like it should be quite easy, but sometimes it really can be difficult to do nothing.