Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Ship of Theseus

Hey my dearies,

I just remembered this li'l puzzle from my Uni days and thought I'd share it with you guys. What're your thoughts?

The Ship of Theseus 

Theseus was the founder-king of Athens (a place in Greece). When he returned from a journey to Crete (another place in Greece), he and 30 other youths sailed in a ship made up of wooden planks. As they knew that strong winds and waves would be battling the ship, they decided to bring along enough planks to build a new ship, just in case a repair was needed. 

Along the way, wind conditions were much worse than expected. Theseus and his crew ended up having to replace each and every plank, one by one, at least once - with the conclusion that, at the end of the journey when they had returned to Athens, the ship was made up entirely of new and un-original planks. 

Is the ship at the end of the journey the same as the one at the start then? Is it still "THE Ship of Theseus" or is it another "Ship of Theseus"? What do YOU think?

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All right. Let's assume that you argue (with a good, logical justification) that the new ship is NOT the same as the original ship. It shouldn't be called THE Ship of Theseus. We'll examine the human body now.

Right now, as I'm typing this and you're reading this, millions of cells are being shed from my and your body. By the time one day has passed, hundreds of millions of these tiny cellular material would have vanished, gone forever from me or from you. In their places, new ones soon sprout. That's the miracle of the human body. 

Imagine the billions of trillions of such cells that would have been replaced by new ones, ever since someone were born. 

Now my question: Human bodies are made up of cells, in the same way that a ship is made of wooden planks.  So am I, or you, the same human being as the one that emerged from my or your mother's womb, many years ago?  

Monday, July 13, 2009

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Funny letter...read it! :)

All right guys, since we're on the topic of letters...here's one that I found off the good ole 'net. By the time I was done, I was "lol"-ing! As you guys are so fond of doing... I "<3">

Dear Sir,


I am writing in response to your request for additional information. In block number 3 of the accident reporting form, I put "trying to do the job alone" as the cause of my accident. You said in your letter that I should explain more fully, and I trust that the following details will be sufficient:


I am a bricklayer by trade. On the day of the accident, I was working alone on the roof of a new six-story building. When I completed my work, I discovered that I had about 500 pounds of brick left over. Rather than carry the bricks down by hand, I decided to lower them in a barrel by using a pulley which, fortunately, was attached to the side of the building, at the sixth floor.


Securing the rope at ground level, I went up to the roof, swung the barrel out, and loaded the brick into it. Then I went back to the ground and untied the rope, holding it tightly to insure a slow descent of the 500 pounds of bricks. You will note in block number 11 of the accident reporting form that I weigh 135 pounds.


Due to my surprise of being jerked off the ground so suddenly, I lost my presence of mind and forgot to let go of the rope. Needless to say, I proceeded at a rather rapid rate up the side of the building.


In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel coming down. This explains the fractured skull and broken collar bone.


Slowed only slightly, I continued my rapid ascent, not stopping until the fingers of my right hand were two knuckles deep into the pulley. Fortunately, by this time, I had regained my presence of mind and was able to hold tightly to the rope in spite of my pain.
At approximately the same time, however, the barrel of bricks hit the ground and the bottom fell out of the barrel. Devoid of the weight of the bricks, the barrel now weighed approximately fifty pounds.


I refer you again to my weight in the block number 11. As you might imagine, I began a rapid descent down the side of the building. In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel coming up. This accounts for the two fractured ankles and the lacerations of my legs and lower body.


The encounter with the barrel slowed me enough to lessen my injuries when I fell onto the pile of bricks and, fortunately, only three vertebrae were cracked.
I am sorry to report, however, that as I lay there on the bricks in pain, unable to stand, and watching the empty barrel six stories above me....I again lost my presence of mind....


I let go of the rope.................




Thursday, July 2, 2009

Brain Twister Post # 1

Hello guys! If you have a little extra time, or simply want something to aid you in twisting your brain - look at this post!

Assume that A, B, and C stand for something - anything you want. 

a) If A are B, and B are C, does that mean that A are C?

Hehehe...think about that... You need some Maths skills for that. ;)