“For instance, the scientific article may say, 'The radioactive phosphorus content of the cerebrum of the rat decreases to one- half in a period of two weeks.' Now what does that mean? It means that phosphorus that is in the brain of a rat—and also in mine, and yours—is not the same phosphorus as it was two weeks ago. It means the atoms that are in the brain are being replaced: the ones that were there before have gone away. So what is this mind of ours: what are these atoms with consciousness? Last week's potatoes! They now can remember what was going on in my mind a year ago—a mind which has long ago been replaced. To note that the thing I call my individuality is only a pattern or dance, that is what it means when one discovers how long it takes for the atoms of the brain to be replaced by other atoms. The atoms come into my brain, dance a dance, and then go out—there are always new atoms, but always doing the same dance, remembering what the dance was yesterday.”
Quote by Richard Feynman
Work
What Do You Care What Other People Think? Further Adventures of a Curious Character
Browse quotes and source details for this work. more
Author
You May Also Like
Source: Corn Pone Opinions
Source: The Guermantes Way
Source: The Years
Source: The Five Virtues That Awaken Your Life
Source: Ghost
Source: The Elegance of the Hedgehog
“I have learned that chances don’t always come to you; sometimes you have to create your own.”
Source: Sleepwalking to Surrender: Dealing with Terrorism in Pakistan