What Makes You You?

This article was written by Bing AI, with revisions by Superbattleshipyamato.
In the Wait But Why blog post “What Makes You You” by Tim Urban, the author explores the question of what makes a person who they are. The post begins by discussing the Body Theory, which equates a person with their physical body. The author presents thought experiments to test this theory, such as what happens when a person cuts their fingernails or gets an organ transplant. The author concludes that the Body Theory does not hold up because a person can change major parts of their body and still be themselves.
The post then discusses the Brain Theory, which equates a person with their brain. The author presents a thought experiment where a mad scientist switches the brains of two people and asks the reader to consider who they would be in this scenario. The post also discusses other theories such as the Data Theory and Soul Theory.
The Data Theory suggests that a person is defined by their life experiences and memories. The author presents a thought experiment where a person’s memories are transferred to another body and asks the reader to consider who they would be in this scenario. However, using several other thought experiments this is also disproven.
He concludes by saying he believes that what makes a person a person is continuity. While Tim’s grandfather has much more in common with other people his age than with his 6 year old self, what connects them and makes them the same person is both are connected by one string of continuous, unbroken existence. Tim believes the concept of a “soul” in this case would be that string of continuous existence, and what connects that kid to his much older self.