something simply by thinking
about the obvious.
Take, for example, the obvious
truth that everyone
has exactly two parents.
Not at least two, not at
most two, but exactly two.
Necessarily.
Let us take this simple observation
to some of its
logical conclusions. Along
with the fact that it takes an
average of 20-30 years for
each generation.. Based on
this beginning, we make
several deductions. The
obvious one is that everyone
must have 2 parents. If
either one of them had not
existed, you would not have
been born. You owe your
existence entirely, and totally,
to these two people,
whose DNA you share. A
next conclusion is that
every person must have at
least 4 grandparents, ancestors
at the "2-generation"
mark, which is approximately
50 years ago. And
each of these 4 people must
have existed, for you to be
here today. Similarly, everyone
must have 8 ancestors
at the "3-generation" mark,
approximately 75 years ago.
And clearly, if any of these
great-grandparents had not
existed, you would not be
reading this today.
Taking this to its logical extentions,
let us consider a
time 200 years ago. Since
this is approximately at the
"7-generation mark", you
will necessarily have 128
ancestors around this time.
If any one of them had not
existed, you would not be
here today. You owe your
very life to these 128 special
people, each one of whom
contributed materially and
necessarily, to your existence,
and whose DNA you
share.
Who were these 128 people
in the year 1806? What did
they think? What did they
feel? Did any of them know
each other? What were their
hopes and dreams? Their
achievements and disappointments?
Did they realize
that at some point in the
unforseeable future, a very
significant part of the human
experience would depend
upon their exploits?
Take this reasoning to a
point of time 500 years ago.
At this time, 16 generations
ago, you would have something
like 100,000 ancestors.
This is a very large
number. It would exceed
the size of any typical town,
and a group this size would
constitute a significant
force. And every one of
these people was necessary
to your future existence.
1000 years ago, 33 generations in the
past, you would lay claim to no fewer
than a billion ancestors. But this number
exceeds the population of the earth
at that time. Clearly, you cannot have
a billion unique ancestors in the year
1000. There weren't enough people
to go around.
This means that, inevitably, ancestors
in one part of your family tree also
occupy spots on other parts of your
tree. That is, if you go back far
enough, your mother's mother's father's
father's mother's mother's father's
... father could be the same person
as your mother's father's father's
mother's mother's father's
mother's ... father, and this is very,
very common. There is a lot of blending
and sharing going on, and to a staggering
degree.
At the 2000 years-ago mark, the number
of putative ancestors is an astonishing 1,152,921,504,606,846,976. This is about a trillion times larger than the population of the earth at that time. The way to resolve this enormous discrepancy is to accept the fact that we are all cousins, and have been, ever since a few thousand hominids set out about 75,00 years ago on the journey we call being human. The very idea that we are separate beings is an illusion. This compels us to recognize that we cannot likely trace our connectivity backward in any simple sense of localized, limited heritage. Rather, we necessarily share identity and genetic information with a vast and distributed population that is both widespread and well mixed. The numbers compel it. 1000 years ago, 33 generations in the past, you would lay claim to no fewer than a billion ancestors. But this number exceeds the population of the earth at that time. Clearly, you cannot have a billion unique ancestors in the year 1000. There weren't enough people to go around.
This means that, inevitably, ancestors in one part of your family tree also occupy spots on other parts of your tree. That is, if you go back far enough, your mother's mother's father's father's mother's mother's father's ... father could be the same person as your mother's father's father's mother's mother's father's mother's ... father, and this is very, very common. There is a lot of blending and sharing going on, and to a staggering degree.
At the 2000 years-ago mark, the number of putative ancestors is an astonishing 1,152,921,504,606,846,976. This is about a trillion times larger than the population of the earth at that time. The way to resolve this enormous discrepancy is to accept the fact that we are all cousins, and have been, ever since a few thousand hominids set out about 75,00 years ago on the journey we call being human. The very idea that we are separate beings is an illusion. This compels us to recognize that we cannot likely trace our connectivity backward in any simple sense of localized, limited heritage. Rather, we necessarily share identity and genetic information with a vast and distributed population that is both widespread and well mixed. The numbers compel it.
In other words, the earth is already an island sufficiently small that, over the last millennia, we are already interconnected to an extraordinary degree.
Which bears on the theme of connectivity and connectedness. The earth now has on the order of 10 billion inhabitants, which is similar to the number of neurons in a human brain. Is it there that the resemblance ends, or might there be something more ahead?
