[aj7]

You can execute patches but they don’t run as fast or as reliably as your underlying personality. Over a long period of time, the patches can become habituated and a kind of hybrid personality results. The underlying code remains.

[chriswait]

Did you find that the generalisation of this model of software development was supported/not-supported in some way by the results being discussed here?

[khazhoux]

What a backhanded way of telling him to shut up!

1) This is a tech-focused forum.

2) It was perfectly obvious that he was being clever.

3) The analogy was quite amusing.

4) The analogy does ring true... and even this research paper concedes the point that personal change is difficult and has proven elusive.

5) I imagine that if a wealth of actionable research results existed on this matter, that personal change and growth would have become more accessible already.

[hliyan]

I'm often fond of saying that idealism is not lost in adulthood, but rather gets patched for real world vulnerabilities. So I generally like the idea of a series of patches making a whole. After all, isn't that what evolution is?

[akvadrako]

That's not necessarily true - the brain can rewire itself and probably will if some underlying functions are not contributing to your behavior. Maybe not actually deleted, but put into a low-power mode.