Re: ANCESTRY QUESTION?

Laurent Hodges (lhodges@iastate.edu)
22 Jan 1995 04:55:08 GMT

In article <3fe9e6$ha6@ns.sunbelt.net>, <decker@spt.tec.sc.us> wrote:
>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? Please email your response to me. Thanks
>Art Decker
>decker@spt.tec.sc.us

Shades of Poor Richard! Benjamin Franklin wrote a very funny piece on
this in one of his Poor Richard's Almanacks. His serious conclusion was
that people of speak of their "pure blood" are blathering idiots.

-- 

 Laurent Hodges, Professor of Physics

 12 Physics Hall, Iowa State University, Ames, IA  50011-3160 

 (515) 294-1185 (office)    294-6027 (fax)    lhodges@iastate.edu