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What is a "tree"? None of the leaves on Methuselah are 5000 years old, but we say that the tree is that old. Kind of a Tree of Theseus situation going on.
by __alexs 4y ago
What is a "tree"?
None of the leaves on Methuselah are 5000 years old, but we say that the tree is that old.
Kind of a Tree of Theseus situation going on.
- beanjuice 4y agoYou are 10 years old, I am also 10 years old. We are all 10 years old. [10] [10] https://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/02/science/your-body-is-younger-than-you-think.html https://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/02/science/your-body-is-youn...
- vesinisa 4y agoWhile its true that most cells in our body replace once about seven years, humans do have e.g. neuron cells that are about as old as the individual: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/does-body-replace-itself-seven-years/ https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/does-body-replace-itself-s...
- rhn_mk1 4y agoThe river is a thousand years old. The oldest water in it just came from the spring a few days ago. Yet take away any water younger than a week, and the river is gone. How do you measure an age of a process defined by change?
- vesinisa 4y agoAssuming you mean this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methuselah_(tree) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methuselah_(tree) It says that its trunk is about 5,000 y.o. as counted through growth rings. I would think most people would understand this to be the proper age of a "tree".