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Life, the universe, and beyond
Rigel:
--- Quote from: AndroFox on February 12, 2017, 09:12:10 AM ---if you put an entire boat apart and then rebuilt it somewhere else with the same pieces, would it still be the same boat
your cells multiply and die over the years. at some point all your original cells of when you were born have been replaced with new cells. does that mean you're a completely different person than from when you were born? how did your consciousness prevail?
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From google: Do brain cells replace themselves?
Skin cells live about two or three weeks. Colon cells have it rough: They die off after about four days. Sperm cells have a life span of only about three days, while brain cells typically last an entire lifetime (neurons in the cerebral cortex, for example, are not replaced when they die).
Mega-Bear:
--- Quote from: AndroFox on February 12, 2017, 09:12:10 AM ---if you put an entire boat apart and then rebuilt it somewhere else with the same pieces, would it still be the same boat
your cells multiply and die over the years. at some point all your original cells of when you were born have been replaced with new cells. does that mean you're a completely different person than from when you were born? how did your consciousness prevail?
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My knowledge of Buddhism is very weak but one of the highest truths, if I understand right, is that there is no one inherent "self."
We have different selves which we assume when we are at work, at school, with family, with friends. Our identity is subdivided into various other identities depending on the setting. I am very different with my friends than I am in a professional setting. Couple that with the fact that our bodies are ever changing, always containing a different quantity of certain vitamins and elements, and the fact that our cells are constantly being replaced, and it suddenly becomes obvious that we as individuals are incredibly dynamic.
Your question about being a completely different person reminded me of that.
I forget where I learned this, it might have even been on this forum. But I've read short snippets of Buddhist texts at school too. fug.