256
The world you were born into no longer exists.
(lemmy.world)
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
this post was submitted on 06 Jul 2023
256 points (96.7% liked)
Showerthoughts
29522 readers
1301 users here now
A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. A showerthought should offer a unique perspective on an ordinary part of life.
Rules
- All posts must be showerthoughts
- The entire showerthought must be in the title
- Avoid politics
- NEW RULE as of 5 Nov 2024, trying it out
- Political posts often end up being circle jerks (not offering unique perspective) or enflaming (too much work for mods).
- Try c/politicaldiscussion, volunteer as a mod here, or start your own community.
- Posts must be original/unique
- Adhere to Lemmy's Code of Conduct-----
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
Not only that. You no longer exist. As you were at birth, that is. And after some amount of time every so often in your life, you will continue to be unrecognizable to the version of you from x years in the past. Your cells die off and new cells are created until you are literally composed of different matter than you once were. The closest thing to a constant thing tying you together would be the electrical signals in your brain. Memories. Like computer code sent from one PC to another. Also the DNA determining how your body is built.
It's the classic Ship of Thesseus problem. If you replace a ship's parts one piece at a time over many years until the old parts of the ship no longer remain, is it still the same ship? And in the same way, are you still the same you? Maybe our lives are full of many different people tied together only by our thoughts, memories, and genetic code.
The neurons you're born with stay with you for the most part. Most of their complex organization is formed through a series of one time events early in development that can't really be replicated and then stays with you for the rest of your life. You get shingles when you're older because the same neurons were with you that got infected by chicken pox when you were younger are still there. There's a few limited areas in the nervous system where new neurons might be formed, but in general neurons are life long cells so be nice to your nervous system. Most other cell types in your body are turning over as you said, including glia and other types of cells in your brain.
Username checks out
In the UK we call this the "Trigger's broom" problem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56yN2zHtofM