Contradictions

Sometimes I get some pages stapled together and some of them are blank except for the sentence “This page intentionally left blank.”  I feel confident that the page is not blank since that sentence is printed on it.  I wouldn’t be surprised if the sentence is there to assure the recipient that no important pages were omitted.  

Sometimes I am asked to verify my identity.  I get a number by email, text or phone and my identity is accepted when I get that number back to the source.  When I get this set of digits, I am usually warned “not to share this number with anyone”.  Sometimes, I am told “we will never ask for this number.”  I share it with the sender and am temporarily verified.