You Are Not the Same Person You Were 7 Years Ago (Literally)

Look at a photo of yourself as a child — and consider this: almost nothing about that person still physically exists. Your cells, even much of your skeleton, are continuously replaced over the years. Your memories are rewritten every time you recall them. Your personality drifts across your life. So in what sense are you still the same person? This is the mind-bending science and philosophy of personal identity — from cell turnover, to the ancient Ship of Theseus, to how memory reconstruction works, to the idea that "you" were never a thing at all, but a pattern, like a wave moving through ever-changing water. Chapters: 00:00 The child in the photo is gone 01:10 Your body is replacing itself right now 01:44 The Ship of Theseus (it's you) 03:40 "But I'm my mind" — the deeper problem 05:05 Your personality isn't fixed either 06:50 So what's left of you? 08:24 You are a wave, not the water