4 ms·

I've said it before and I'll say it again; incest is a spectrum, not an absolute :) Breed with someone who really doesn't look like you. More off-topic, I fin

I've said it before and I'll say it again; incest is a spectrum, not an absolute :) Breed with someone who really doesn't look like you. More off-topic, I find it creepy when I meet couples who look like each other and have a string of identical children.

rustynails 11y ago
My wife doesn't look like me. We have reasonably different ethnic backgrounds (common Scottish ancestry maybe 5 generations ago, maybe 5% ethnic commonality at best). We have an autistic child. So, what's your conclusion?
- EliRivers 11y ago
  My conclusion is that merging genes is essentially rolling the dice, and all you can do is try to stack the odds in your favour. There are a great many unfortunate genetic outcomes when it comes to breeding, and you can reduce the chances of many of them by reducing the level of incest in your breeding. I bet you already knew this is what I meant and didn't actually need me to spell it out for you. As an aside, I read elsewhere that you and your wife are both from Western Europe. That's actually a lot closer than I had in mind; I said breed with someone who really doesn't look like you. :)
- daveguy 11y ago
  sigma > 0
eplanit 11y ago
> I find it creepy when I meet couples who look like each other and have a string of identical children. I'm [genuinely] curious: do you find it creepy only for similar-appearing couples in your own race/ethnic group? Assuming you're not Japanese, for example, would you have that reaction to the sight of such a Japanese family? This is not meant as a pejorative. My guess is that such a bias is probably common _within_ a race/ethnicity, but much less so when viewing couples/families of other races.
- gohrt 11y ago
  People who know relatively many people of race A have more trouble distinguishing individuals of race B, than individuals of race A. When all members of a race look alike, there's less intrafamily similarity to notice.

rustynails 11y ago

My wife doesn't look like me. We have reasonably different ethnic backgrounds (common Scottish ancestry maybe 5 generations ago, maybe 5% ethnic commonality at best). We have an autistic child. So, what's your conclusion?

EliRivers 11y ago
My conclusion is that merging genes is essentially rolling the dice, and all you can do is try to stack the odds in your favour. There are a great many unfortunate genetic outcomes when it comes to breeding, and you can reduce the chances of many of them by reducing the level of incest in your breeding. I bet you already knew this is what I meant and didn't actually need me to spell it out for you. As an aside, I read elsewhere that you and your wife are both from Western Europe. That's actually a lot closer than I had in mind; I said breed with someone who really doesn't look like you. :)
daveguy 11y ago
sigma > 0

eplanit 11y ago

> I find it creepy when I meet couples who look like each other and have a string of identical children. I'm [genuinely] curious: do you find it creepy only for similar-appearing couples in your own race/ethnic group? Assuming you're not Japanese, for example, would you have that reaction to the sight of such a Japanese family? This is not meant as a pejorative. My guess is that such a bias is probably common _within_ a race/ethnicity, but much less so when viewing couples/families of other races.

gohrt 11y ago
People who know relatively many people of race A have more trouble distinguishing individuals of race B, than individuals of race A. When all members of a race look alike, there's less intrafamily similarity to notice.