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This is the Conversation Forum for The First Douglas Adams Memorial Lecture << For goodness sake I wish I could get this on CD or DVD >> Subject: My rather pedantic point Posted Apr 23, 2003 by Researcher 225685   Posting 1 Firstly may I say how much I enjoyed this lecture. Regarding humans as waves, in point of fact the enamel of your teeth is non-labile (which is to say that it is not broken down and re-deposited as a result of life processes, although there is an amount of surface exchange and re-calcification/fluoridation). The formation of certain secondary teeth occurs prior to birth so there are quite a lot of atoms in your body that are still present (as long as you are not edentulous or nearly so) that were present at the time of that childhood memory it was suggested that you bring to mind. This does not affect the sense or meaning of the argument of course, anything that distinguishes your mental or intellectual identity is not defined by the identity of the matter that forms its' substance at any one time but strictly the one constant is found in the visible portion of your adult teeth. As an aside I was once watching The Osmond Family on a black and white television and decided to turn the brightness down and, like the Cheshire Cat, the last thing to be seen was their teeth. If I may attempt an unworthy parody:- Humans had always assumed that what distinguished them from their rodent ancestors was their brains, their manipulative digits and opposable thumbs or even their digital watches but ultimately what really made the difference was that humans needed dental floss and mouthwash. Celebaelin Conversation list Most of the content on h2g2 is created by h2g2's Researchers, who are members of the public. The views expressed are theirs and unless specifically stated are not those of the BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of any external sites referenced. In the event that you consider anything on this page to be in breach of the site's House Rules, please click on the relevant button to alert our Moderation Team. Conversation list

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