5 ms·

But when exactly did it stop being the same car?

bot403 1y ago
Fun fact, on average most (not all though) of the cells in your body are brand new after 7 years. When do you stop being you and take a new name?
- diggan 1y ago
  At least we're not going around saying "diggan says the only original part of his person is likely the body/chassi"
- griffzhowl 1y ago
  This kind of thing is repeated often, but I don't think it's true. For one thing, how would tattoos last so long then? More relevantly, I don't think neurons are replaced. There must be some material churn in the atoms and molecules that make them up, but even then different for different molecules - e.g. I don't know how much of our DNA molecules get replaced over a lifespan from the repair or other mechanisms.
  - jorams 1y ago
    The "on average" is doing an awful lot of work. Some cells are never replaced, some organs are replaced every few years or even partially over decades, some organs are replaced every few months (one of which is the skin). Tattoos however, IIUC, sort of "float" between cells, and as those cells are replaced one-by-one the ink is kept in place by the surrounding cells that are still there.
  - cobbzilla 1y ago
    I suppose tattoo ink isn’t all in the cells. I’d guess the ink within intracellular spaces is never removed by the body (or very, very slowly).
  - nayuki 1y ago
    > how would tattoos last so long Answered by Kurzgesagt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGggU-Cxhv0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGggU-Cxhv0
diggan 1y ago
When you changed the VIN :)
moffkalast 1y ago
An easy way to say would be when it's still 50% original, but I think an interesting way to look at it is that it becomes a whole new thing after every major change. First it's his new car, then it becomes his new car with new tires, and then his car with new windshield wipers, and finally his old car with all new parts and some old ones. None of them are the same car. I think in cases where it' a major rebuild, like turning a WW2 Minesweeper first into a ferry, and finally into Cousteau's research ship Calypso this outlook is more obvious. Are these ships all the same despite getting almost a full refit at each stage? I would say none of them are the same ship, but completely separate "things" with some old and some new parts.
jama211 1y ago
It hasn’t, the law decided a car is it’s shell and that’s it.
hdgvhicv 1y ago
And what if you took the other parts and built a separate car from them?
- vntok 1y ago
  You've just answered your own question, haven't you? If it's a separate car then it can't be the original by definition.
  - hdgvhicv 1y ago
    If you completely disassemble a car then reassemble it, is it the same car? What if you disassemble all of the car except the wheels and reassemble it but with new wheels? How about if you also exclude the seats too. At what point does the answer change? That’s the whole point of the ship of theseus.

Fun fact, on average most (not all though) of the cells in your body are brand new after 7 years. When do you stop being you and take a new name?

diggan 1y ago
At least we're not going around saying "diggan says the only original part of his person is likely the body/chassi"
griffzhowl 1y ago
This kind of thing is repeated often, but I don't think it's true. For one thing, how would tattoos last so long then? More relevantly, I don't think neurons are replaced. There must be some material churn in the atoms and molecules that make them up, but even then different for different molecules - e.g. I don't know how much of our DNA molecules get replaced over a lifespan from the repair or other mechanisms.
- jorams 1y ago
  The "on average" is doing an awful lot of work. Some cells are never replaced, some organs are replaced every few years or even partially over decades, some organs are replaced every few months (one of which is the skin). Tattoos however, IIUC, sort of "float" between cells, and as those cells are replaced one-by-one the ink is kept in place by the surrounding cells that are still there.
- cobbzilla 1y ago
  I suppose tattoo ink isn’t all in the cells. I’d guess the ink within intracellular spaces is never removed by the body (or very, very slowly).
- nayuki 1y ago
  > how would tattoos last so long Answered by Kurzgesagt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGggU-Cxhv0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGggU-Cxhv0

diggan 1y ago

When you changed the VIN :)

moffkalast 1y ago

An easy way to say would be when it's still 50% original, but I think an interesting way to look at it is that it becomes a whole new thing after every major change. First it's his new car, then it becomes his new car with new tires, and then his car with new windshield wipers, and finally his old car with all new parts and some old ones. None of them are the same car. I think in cases where it' a major rebuild, like turning a WW2 Minesweeper first into a ferry, and finally into Cousteau's research ship Calypso this outlook is more obvious. Are these ships all the same despite getting almost a full refit at each stage? I would say none of them are the same ship, but completely separate "things" with some old and some new parts.

jama211 1y ago

It hasn’t, the law decided a car is it’s shell and that’s it.

hdgvhicv 1y ago

And what if you took the other parts and built a separate car from them?

vntok 1y ago
You've just answered your own question, haven't you? If it's a separate car then it can't be the original by definition.
- hdgvhicv 1y ago
  If you completely disassemble a car then reassemble it, is it the same car? What if you disassemble all of the car except the wheels and reassemble it but with new wheels? How about if you also exclude the seats too. At what point does the answer change? That’s the whole point of the ship of theseus.