Theseus' Paradox

[NOBLE]

Consider a ship: the Ship of Theseus. At the beginning of its career, the ship is made entirely of wooden planks. The ship sails the same route for many decades and is "preserved" in the following way: whenever one of the wooden planks wears out, it is discarded and replaced by an aluminum one. Eventually the time comes when all of the wooden planks have been replaced by aluminum ones. One day, however, a historian decides to gather all of the discarded planks and rebuild them in their original form. As a result of her work, each plank has the same position that it did in the original ship. She sells her ship to the local museum, and a curator then boasts that he has on display the Ship of Theseus. The crew of the aluminum ship, however, is outraged: "WE are sailing the Ship of Theseus and have been for many years. The Ship of Theseus is here on the water, not there in your museum!" Who is right? Which ship is the Ship of Theseus?

[NOBLE]

Consider a ship: the Ship of Theseus. At the beginning of its career, the ship is made entirely of wooden planks. The ship sails the same route for many decades and is "preserved" in the following way: whenever one of the wooden planks wears out, it is discarded and replaced by an aluminum one. Eventually the time comes when all of the wooden planks have been replaced by aluminum ones. One day, however, a historian decides to gather all of the discarded planks and rebuild them in their original form. As a result of her work, each plank has the same position that it did in the original ship. She sells her ship to the local museum, and a curator then boasts that he has on display the Ship of Theseus. The crew of the aluminum ship, however, is outraged: "WE are sailing the Ship of Theseus and have been for many years. The Ship of Theseus is here on the water, not there in your museum!" Who is right? Which ship is the Ship of Theseus?