According to scientists who have been studying the human genome, if you could line up your father and his father (your grandfather) and his father (your great grandfather) on and on in a long line going back in time through the generations, you would only have to line up about 3,000 people until we would get to a handful of people who lived in a small clan near what is now Ethiopia, to whom every person living on Earth right now is related. (Phew…that was a long sentence.)
3,000 people. Not many.
Anyhow…the deep thought – in about another 3,000 generations our children’s children’s children’s (etc.) child will be born who will finally be paying off our Bush era debt.
16 responses so far ↓
1 Dorian Gray // Dec 5, 2008 at 8:13 am
Richard Dawkins describes this concept at book’s length in The Ancestor’s Tale.
“History doesn’t repeat itself, but it rhymes”
- Mark Twain
2 jason330 // Dec 5, 2008 at 8:21 am
I’ll have to give that a read.
From time to time, when I have a far away look in my eye, I find myself thinking about how different my life must be from my great-grandfather’s – and, in turn, how similar his peasant life was to his great (to the tenth power) grandfather’s.
3 Joanne Christian // Dec 5, 2008 at 8:25 am
Read Mark Twain instead-more truth.
4 Dorian Gray // Dec 5, 2008 at 8:45 am
‘more’ truth?
5 RSmitty // Dec 5, 2008 at 8:53 am
Yeah, it’s like all truthiness and more!
6 RSmitty // Dec 5, 2008 at 8:55 am
From our vantage point, looking back and then looking forward, humans are kind of a paradox. As there becomes more of us, becoming closer and more interwoven, we’ve somehow managed to become more isolated from each other.
Go figure.
7 Donhusseinsquishviti // Dec 5, 2008 at 9:11 am
all I know is that I’m part black right now. Can I start using the N’word now?
8 cassandra m // Dec 5, 2008 at 9:14 am
No.
9 RSmitty // Dec 5, 2008 at 9:18 am
all I know is that I’m part black right now.
Hmm…that wouldn’t be Dennis Hopper’s character, Clifford Worley speaking to Christoper Walkins’ character, Vincenzo Coccotti, from the move True Romance, now, would it?
10 cassandra m // Dec 5, 2008 at 9:19 am
we’ve somehow managed to become more isolated from each other
And I think that we’ve invested a great deal of work in maintaining alot of that isolation.
11 Donhusseinsquishviti // Dec 5, 2008 at 9:20 am
whatever
12 RSmitty // Dec 5, 2008 at 9:22 am
You have no idea what I am talking about, do you?
FWIW, I do know what you meant with this thread and all, but simply trying to have a little fun at your expense. Cheer the frick up! Hope that helped.
13 Dorian Gray // Dec 5, 2008 at 9:34 am
Well we are all Africans anyway.
14 Donhusseinsquishviti // Dec 5, 2008 at 9:36 am
I was talking to cass you asshat… It’s not all about you, you know
15 cassandra_m // Dec 5, 2008 at 9:40 am
whatever
16 RSmitty // Dec 5, 2008 at 9:54 am
Although, DV, I think you’d enjoy that conversation (it’s about one-third down on that page).