Did you know?

[Jokerman]

Everybody has two parents and four grandparents. Those parents and grandparents each have two parents and four grandparents. Every time you go back one generation, you double the number of your ancestors. After ten generations, that means you are descended from 1,024 people. If parents are, on average, 25 years older than their children, that means that just 250 years ago there were 1,024 of your ancestors alive. But the same argument holds for every living person on Earth, so everybody had 1,024 ancestors alive 250 years ago. And yet, the population of the Earth was much smaller 250 years ago than it is today. What’s wrong with this argument?

The numbers are right, but they don’t take account of the fact that each ancestor may have lots of children and grandchildren and so on. If you have a sister, you and your sister both have four grandparents, but they are the same four grandparents! If you have a first cousin, you have only six grandparents between you.

You really do have about 1,000 ancestors who were alive 250 years ago, but most of those are also the ancestors of your friends, and people you have never met. Everybody is related to everybody else. And that’s why I hug every girl I meet, but stay celibate. :noworry:

 

[masta247]

People seem to be amazed and shocked by your calculations. I think they are still challenging themselves to understand that.

 

[_carmi]

Good stuff. and no I didn't know that

 

[Bender]

i didn't know jokerman could do math

 

[Snowman]

Everybody has two parents and four grandparents. Those parents and grandparents each have two parents and four grandparents. Every time you go back one generation, you double the number of your ancestors. After ten generations, that means you are descended from 1,024 people. If parents are, on average, 25 years older than their children, that means that just 250 years ago there were 1,024 of your ancestors alive. But the same argument holds for every living person on Earth, so everybody had 1,024 ancestors alive 250 years ago. And yet, the population of the Earth was much smaller 250 years ago than it is today. What’s wrong with this argument?

The numbers are right, but they don’t take account of the fact that each ancestor may have lots of children and grandchildren and so on. If you have a sister, you and your sister both have four grandparents, but they are the same four grandparents! If you have a first cousin, you have only six grandparents between you.

You really do have about 1,000 ancestors who were alive 250 years ago, but most of those are also the ancestors of your friends, and people you have never met. Everybody is related to everybody else. And that’s why I hug every girl I meet, but stay celibate. :noworry:

i did not know that, and i now i know.

and knowing is half the battle *GI JOE*

 

[Stred]

Wait, wait, so..

The retarded dude with 6 fingers that Ive been paying out all day, calling his parents inbred.. they're related to me?

 

[Preach]

It's funny because I'm not from such a big place. There were maybe a 1000 people living here 250 years ago. Which means they are all my ancestors, which is funny to me. Harstad = Preach.

 

[Freedom Froggy]

And that’s why I hug every girl I meet, but stay celibate. :noworry:

sorry JM, but your balls must ache

 

[vg4030]

we were talking about this in college the other day, apparently we are all related to a 'Mitochondrial Eve' who lived in africa. She isnt the first women but the first that we can trace back to about 200,000 years ago.

What is also interesting is that about 1/3 of humanity can trace their origins back to a single person who lived in the 1600's. they think its some noble person who traveled alot and was able to actually have children all over the world..

 

[Jokerman]

We're actually all Michael Jackson's kids.

 

[Shadows]

we were talking about this in college the other day, apparently we are all related to a 'Mitochondrial Eve' who lived in africa. She isnt the first women but the first that we can trace back to about 200,000 years ago.

What is also interesting is that about 1/3 of humanity can trace their origins back to a single person who lived in the 1600's. they think its some noble person who traveled alot and was able to actually have children all over the world..

In all the videos I have seen, they portray her as being black.

We're actually all Michael Jackson's kids.

:lol:

 

[kastro]

Everybody has two parents and four grandparents. Those parents and grandparents each have two parents and four grandparents. Every time you go back one generation, you double the number of your ancestors. After ten generations, that means you are descended from 1,024 people. If parents are, on average, 25 years older than their children, that means that just 250 years ago there were 1,024 of your ancestors alive. But the same argument holds for every living person on Earth, so everybody had 1,024 ancestors alive 250 years ago. And yet, the population of the Earth was much smaller 250 years ago than it is today. What’s wrong with this argument?

The numbers are right, but they don’t take account of the fact that each ancestor may have lots of children and grandchildren and so on. If you have a sister, you and your sister both have four grandparents, but they are the same four grandparents! If you have a first cousin, you have only six grandparents between you.

You really do have about 1,000 ancestors who were alive 250 years ago, but most of those are also the ancestors of your friends, and people you have never met. Everybody is related to everybody else. And that’s why I hug every girl I meet, but stay celibate. :noworry:

Yo man ive been pondering on this for years but recently started actually calculaing it but not to ur extenct but still and then i come across this thread buzzy.......

 

[Chronic]

we were talking about this in college the other day, apparently we are all related to a 'Mitochondrial Eve' who lived in africa. She isnt the first women but the first that we can trace back to about 200,000 years ago.

Think you got the part in bold wrong. We all have mitochondrial DNA that originated with her. She's our most recent common ancestor when looking at the female lineage and she happened to live around 200,000 years ago. There's also a male equivelant who lived a significant time after that. And I think there's also our most recent common ancestor (a third person). At all points in time there were other people around. The name "Eve" is misleading in the sense that it implies she was the first and only woman at that time.