• ArbitraryValue@sh.itjust.works
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    22 hours ago

    An interesting thing about atoms is that all atoms of the same isotope are fundamentally identical. In other words, they’re not just the same as far as we can tell. They are absolutely the same. This challenges human intuition about identity, because while an atom can be said to have a specific history, there is literally no trace of that history in the atom itself. If God swapped two atoms of the same sort, only he could ever know.

    Consider software. You downloaded your copy of My Little Pony: The Movie from a particular source, but if that source turned out to be disgusting you wouldn’t have any urge to delete your copy and then download a new copy from someone else. Atoms ought to be considered like software in this way.

    (This is relevant because “eating” involves breaking food down into individual molecules.)