Imagine you have a favourite pair of socks, they're comfy and easy to wear. But, oh no, you find a hole in one of them! You can't very well throw them away, so attached as you are, and so you patch them up with a spare piece of cloth. Problem solved, crisis averted, everyone goes on with their lives.

But what's this? That same sock has a brand new hole before you know it! Well, you get more cloth and patch the sock up again. Too bad this hypothetical life is a cruel one. Each time you patch up the sock, a new hole appears the very next day.

Eventually the material from the original sock is gone, replaced by a rogues' gallery of scrap fabric. Is it still the sock you once treasured, or is it something new altogether?