A word for word transcription of a conversation I had with Tom Cruise, the world famous actor, at a Hotel in Melbourne Australia on May 26th 2010.TC: Mike Migliacci? Tom Cruise.
MM: Wow, Tom Cruise! Nice to meet you.
TC: No, no…no…no nice to meet YOU!
MM: Really?
TC: Yes. Don’t you think so?
MM: I don’t know, I’ve never met myself.
TC: Oh…but haven’t you?
MM: No. I have been in a perpetual state of knowing myself since birth.
TC: Yes, well you may think that, but in fact, it’s not true at all. You see, your cells are in a constant state of flux. Living, dying, regenerating… you are a totally new person all the time.
MM: Well, that may be, Tom, but still my life has a great deal of continuity. Not only on the biological scale, but historical as well. The past can't be changed, and it constantly informs the new person I “am” of the old person I “was”.
TC: Michael, that’s the most absurd thing I have ever heard. If the cells in your body are in constant flux, then certainly your brain cells are in flux, changing your understanding of who you are!
MM: Well not exactly, Tom. I mean, the cells themselves carry only genetic information, not life experiences. True there are chemicals in the brain that store sensory memory information, but they only work as a cohesive whole incorporating chemical reactions and billions of cells. The birth and death of an individual cell has no bearing on that, whatsoever.
TC: Oh I see…have you tried those crab cakes over there?
MM: No, not yet, but I was about to!
TC: Yeah, me too.
The End.
