In 1511 when people such as Leonardo da Vinci, Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, and Nostradamus, were alive and walking this earth, walking it with them were 1,048,576 other people who were your great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandparents. That is 18 greats, or 20 generations ago.
Since then, those 1,048, 576 people have spawned another 1,048, 576 people; and the last 2, your parents, spawned you. You are sitting on top of a human pyramid of 2,097,150 people, with each and everyone of them being your ancestor. That is something to think about this month as we honor those who have come before us.
Here is something else to think about – there is approximately 23,000 protein coded genes in the human genome. If we are to assume no pedigree collapse and a 50% genetic cross over between generations then you share about 0.02 genes with each and every one of those 1,048, 576 people. That is 0.0008%.
My figures might not be completely accurate, I admit, since someone of your ancestors might have shared the same parents or grandparents. But what family would be complete without a few skeletons in its closet!
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