[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Re: I need help with a paradox. not a trick question, i do not know the answer
How about this?
If you go back a certain number of generations, you will start to intersect
with certain people. We're all related, if you go back far enough right?
So, creepy as it is by today's standards, you're going to find that maybe a
set of parents were related closely, hence having only one set of parents,
or one set of grandparents...It takes some twisted thinking, but it can be
rationalized...
That was my twist on it...anyone else?
>From: CheetahJN at aol_com
>Reply-To: CheetahJN at aol_com
>To: Over-the-Rhine at actwin_com
>Subject: I need help with a paradox. not a trick question, i do not know
>the answer
>Date: Sun, 22 Jul 2001 18:28:58 EDT
>
>I'm plotting my family tree. I have two parents. I record the names of all
>four grandparents and all 8 great grandparents. I need to do some research
>on
>the great great grandparents but I allocate space for all 16 of them on my
>chart. I go on to the next generation - 32 spots, next one 64, the next one
>128 etc. By the time I get to the tenth generation I have to acount for
>1,024
>individuals. Ten generations previous and I need one million people. Go
>back
>10 more generations and I need about 1 billion people to account for my
>existence. This is a total of thirty generations ago and that takes me back
>to aproximatelly the 12th century. I don't think there was a billion people
>on the planet then.
>Then, just go back another 4 generations or so and I would need some 16
>billion direct ancestors to account for me.
>Something is not adding up, but I do not know what's missing. Remember; no
>one comes into being without two parents, so it seems that you always need
>two additional people to create each ancestor. I've posed this question to
>quite a few people, no one has come up with anything. I figured I'd try
>this
>crowd and see what y'all can do.
>---------------
>Unsubscribe by going to http://www.actwin.com/MediaNation/OtR/
_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp
---------------
Unsubscribe by going to http://www.actwin.com/MediaNation/OtR/
Follow-Ups: