Many of the most persistent paradoxes in modern physics arise not from inconsistencies in fundamental laws, but from the extrapolation of effective descriptions beyond their regimes of validity. Across statistical mechanics, quantum measurement theory, relativity, and gravitation, paradoxes repeatedly emerge when idealized assumptions such as perfect locality, infinite response speed, memoryless dynamics, or exact reversibility are imposed on systems that exhibit finite response, coherence limits, and irreversible channel activation. This paper surveys a broad class of foundational paradoxes and argues that they share a common structural origin: regime misidentification. By treating geometry, unitarity, and locality as effective descriptors rather than primitive ontological elements, many paradoxes are dissolved or reclassified into concrete physical questions concerning response, memory, channel accounting, and dissipation. The paper is intended as a conceptual companion to work on structural tensions and operational requirements in contemporary physics.
Adam Sheldrick (2026) studied this question.