[wr1472]

This reminds me a of a line by Trigg in the classic UK comedy Only Fools and Horses (Trigg is a road sweeper for context).

In this classic scene, Trigger claims that he's had his road sweeper's broom for 20 years. But then he adds that the broom has had 17 new heads and 14 new handles.

"How can it be the same bloody broom then?" asks Sid the café owner. Trigger produces a picture of him and his broom and asks: "what more proof do you need?"

From 'Heroes and Villains' (1996)

http://uktv.co.uk/gold/stepbystep/aid/579394

[rmc]

Also know as The Ship of Theseus. This problem has been around for thousands of years a d no one's sure what the answer is.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_of_Theseus

[ims]

The problem comes from trying to force a dichotomy between "new" and "not new". This is an interesting article about these types of seeming paradoxes: http://lesswrong.com/lw/no/how_an_algorithm_feels_from_insid...