“A big advantage of the serial-number approach to identity is that things stay the same even as they change.”

—  Brian Hayes (scientist)

Source: Group Theory in the Bedroom (2008), Chapter 11, Identity Crisis, p. 213

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "A big advantage of the serial-number approach to identity is that things stay the same even as they change." by Brian Hayes (scientist)?
Brian Hayes (scientist) photo
Brian Hayes (scientist)20
American scientist, columnist and author 1900

Related quotes

Dave Matthews photo

“Every day things change, but basically they stay the same.”

Dave Matthews (1967) American singer-songwriter, musician and actor

Seek Up
Remember Two Things (1993)

Sue Grafton photo

“The hard thing about death is that nothing ever changes. The hard thing about life is that nothing stays the same.”

Sue Grafton (1940–2017) American writer

Source: J is for Judgment

Ben Folds photo

“I stay focused on details
It keeps me from feeling the big things
But watch the microscope long enough
Things that seem still are still changing”

Ben Folds (1966) American musician

"Still", Supersunnyspeedgraphic (2006).
Song lyrics, Solo

Milan Kundera photo

“The serial number of a human specimen is the face, that accidental and unrepeatable combination of features. It reflects neither character nor soul, nor what we call the self. The face is only the serial number of a specimen”

Milan Kundera book Immortality

Source: Immortality

Brandon Sanderson photo

“You hate change. I hate it too. But things can't stay the same- and that's well, for when nothing changes in your life, it's as good as being dead”

Brandon Sanderson (1975) American fantasy writer

Source: The Hero of Ages

“It’s a funny thing coming home. Nothing changes. Everything looks the same, feels the same, even smells the same. You realize what’s changed, is you.”

Eric Roth (1945) American screenwriter

Source: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Screenplay

Cassandra Clare photo

“Everything changes in my life, and the world stays the same.”

Cassandra Clare book City of Ashes

Source: City of Ashes

Neil Peart photo

“All the same we take our chances,
Laughed at by time, tricked by circumstances,
Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose,
The more that things change, the more they stay the same.
-- Circumstances (1978)”

Neil Peart (1952–2020) Canadian-American drummer , lyricist, and author

Rush Lyrics

Stig Dagerman photo

“For anyone who feels our of place in the land of small dogs the only thing left is to become a big dog, and the only advantage in being a big dog is that one is not then ashamed of dying. Not even a big dog can help feeling shamed of living, a big dog least of all.”

Stig Dagerman book A Burnt Child

Source: A Burnt Child (1948), p. 258

Related topics