Re: ANCESTRY QUESTION?

whittet (whittet@shore.net)
16 Jan 1995 18:40:43 GMT

In article <3fe9e6$ha6@ns.sunbelt.net>, decker@spt.tec.sc.us says:
>
>How can we possibly have more ancestors in a coexisting generation than
>the total known population of the earth?
>
>I know for a fact that I have a mother and a father who each has a mother
>and a father, etc... The direct ancestral chart would look like so:
>Generation Population
>1 2 (Mother and father)
>2 4 (grandparents)
>3 8 (greatgrandparents)....
>20 1,048,576
>30 1,073,741,841
>Going backwards it does not take too long to run into a problem.
>
>What am I missing?

The obvious, that not all of the people in your tree need to be in stable
monogamous, married, relationships, and that if your mother and father are
brother and sister, you only need to have two grandparents.

Please email your response to me. Thanks
>Art Decker
>decker@spt.tec.sc.us