I attempt to resolve the paradox via Figure . Regarding the interplay between thermodynamics and kinetics, the Marcus model dissects reactivity into thermodynamic-dependent and thermodynamic-independent components. It expresses the free energy of activation ∆G ‡ by a combination of the reaction's free energy ∆G and the intrinsic barrier ∆G0 ‡ , which corresponds to ∆G ‡ for ∆G = 0 (Figure ), in the linear approximation (∆G ‡ = ∆G0 ‡ + α∆G) known as the Leffler equation. The intrinsic barrier is considered to reflect the reorganization energy required for the deformation of the nuclear coordinates of the reactant state to that of the product state, which represents the inherent nature of each family of reactions independent of the thermodynamic driving force. The Brønsted slope α indicates the sensitivity of the reaction rates to changes in driving force. Both ∆G0 ‡ and α are intrinsic properties of each family of reactions. For constant ∆G0 ‡ and α, the Leffler equation is reduced to the BEP principle (Figure ), which also means that between different intrinsic reactivities, the Hammond postulate is no longer relevant. While catalysts do not change the thermodynamic driving force, they change the rate constant by changing the intrinsic barrier (Figure ). Figure assembles all of these ideas; thermodynamics does not affect the intrinsic barrier, but affects the thermodynamic contribution to the reaction barrier as per BEP principle, thus affecting the resultant rate constants; the difference in rate constant between the catalyzed and the uncatalyzed reactions is attributed to the changes in intrinsic barrier that the catalyst caused; thermodynamics and intrinsic barrier do not depend on each other, but the observed rate constant depends on both.