.
.
OR
How to Reach a Quadrillion Ancestors in 50 Generations.
(follow-up to my previous post)
you have 2 parents.
they each had 2 parents,
who each had 2 parents,
who each had 2 parents,
ad infinitum (assuming your ancestors reproduced sexually).
each generation the number of ancestors doubles.
2 parents
4 grandparents
8 great-grandparents
16 great-great-grandparents
etc
this quickly leads to an absurdly large number. by the time you calculate back to ancient greece your progenitors outnumber the stars.
the solution? inbreeding. we share the same relatives and they liberally shared each other.
viewed from a distance our family tree does not resemble the upside down triangle pictured above. it looks rather more like a dull pencil. skip back several generations and you share relatives with most of people you know.
take care, cousins.
.
.
.
