Comic #4057: heap-problems

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Here’s a transcription of the comic text:

Panel 1: "There's this concept in philosophy called a 'heap problem.'"

Panel 2: "You have one of something. It's not a heap. You add another. It's still not a heap. If you have ten thousand, it's certainly a heap. So, at what point do you go from a non-heap to a heap?"

Panel 3: "Pfft. A heap is just a human concept. We use it for intellectual book-keeping because we have limited cognitive capacity. But, there is no heap. Just larger amounts of stuff."

Panel 4: "It's only a 'problem' to the extent that we're upset by the fact that a heap isn't real. Not like a proton is real, anyway."

Panel 5: "We live in Aristotle's world of stuff; but, we'd like to live in Plato's world of ideas."

Panel 6: "But, in a far off galaxy, you will find protons, you will find the same stuff. But, heaps are just an idea in the minds of limited organisms."

Panel 7: "What about mountains or warmth or the color red or love or consciousness? They're some of my favorite things. They're real to me."

Panel 8: "It's not the universe's fault if your favorites aren't well-aligned with the nature of reality."

Panel 9: "Well, what's your favorite thing?"

Panel 10: "Quark-gluon interactions."

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