colonel@gloria.UUCP (George Sicherman) (05/17/84)
[what we caught, we threw away] This is a good example of the principle that it depends on who's doing the perceiving. To a barnacle, it's a whole new ship. -- Col. G. L. Sicherman ...seismo!rochester!rocksvax!sunybcs!gloria!colonel
emigh@ecsvax.UUCP (05/17/84)
<>
This reminds me of the story of Lincoln's axe (sorry, I've forgotten the
source). A farmer was showing a visitor Lincoln's axe:
Visitor: Are you sure that's Lincoln's axe
Farmer: It's Lincoln's axe. Of course I've had to replace the handle
three times and the head once, but it's Lincoln's axe alright.
Adds another level of reality to the Greek Ship Problem.
--
Ted H. Emigh Genetics and Statistics, North Carolina State U, Raleigh NC
USENET: {akgua decvax duke ihnp4 unc}!mcnc!ecsvax!emigh
ARPA: ecsvax!emigh@Mcnc or decvax!mcnc!ecsvax!emigh@BERKELEYjso@edison.UUCP (05/19/84)
The resolution of the Greek Ship/Lincoln's Axe problem seems to be that an object retains its identity over a period of time if it has an unbroken time-line as a whole. Most of the cells in your body weren't there when you were born, and most that you had then aren't there now, but aren't you still the same person/entity, though you have far from the same characteristics? John Owens ...!uvacs!edison!jso
band@ccivax.UUCP (05/24/84)
In reference to John Owens resolution of the Greek Ship problem: > Most of the cells in your body weren't there when > you were born, and most that you had then aren't there now, but aren't you > still the same person/entity, though you have far from the same characteristics? Is it such an easy question? It's far from clear that the answer is yes. The question might be What is it that we recognize as persisting over time? And if all the cells in our bodies are different, then where does this what reside? Could it be that nothing persists? Or is it that what persists in not material (in the physical sense)? -- Bill Anderson ...!{ {ucbvax | decvax}!allegra!rlgvax }!ccivax!band