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Grandchildren share 1/4 of your DNA, great-grandchildren share 1/8, great-great-grandchildren share 1/16. From an evolutionary point of view, there are diminish

Grandchildren share 1/4 of your DNA, great-grandchildren share 1/8, great-great-grandchildren share 1/16. From an evolutionary point of view, there are diminishing returns to helping your descendants, even if your knowledge remains relevant.

Silhouette 15y ago
From an evolutionary point of view, there are diminishing returns to helping your descendants, even if your knowledge remains relevant. That is true in a sense, but it assumes that the only thing that matters are the physical characteristics and basic instincts propagated by DNA. Arguably the thing that makes us the dominant species on the planet today is our ability to propagate our way of thinking, our collective knowledge and wisdom, our goals and aspirations. These influences also get diluted over time in each individual descendant, of course, but on the other hand to some extent these are more about the culture and the collective group rather than any individual. The number of individuals influenced by a particular ancestor tends to increase with each generation. As a species we actively select our mates based partly on compatibility in these respects. And as the article itself notes, there is a role for older generations in nurturing members of younger generations other than just their own direct offspring, which would tend to include influencing the offspring's mates and further generations. So I'm not sure it's entirely fair to say that there are diminishing returns with each generation. It is more that the influence becomes more spread out and tends to affect culture rather than any one individual, and those whose ideas are recognised as benefitting the wider group more effectively will tend to retain more influence for longer.
gte910h 15y ago
Children share half your DNA. Grandchildren share 0-1/2 your DNA, in a normal distribution around 1/4 Similar values and distributions happen for great and great-great grandchildren centered on 1/8th and 1/16th respectively This is due to the randomness associated with the chromosome from you or your co-parent being randomly selected. A grandchild exceptionally like you might be almost 1/2 your DNA

Silhouette 15y ago

From an evolutionary point of view, there are diminishing returns to helping your descendants, even if your knowledge remains relevant. That is true in a sense, but it assumes that the only thing that matters are the physical characteristics and basic instincts propagated by DNA. Arguably the thing that makes us the dominant species on the planet today is our ability to propagate our way of thinking, our collective knowledge and wisdom, our goals and aspirations. These influences also get diluted over time in each individual descendant, of course, but on the other hand to some extent these are more about the culture and the collective group rather than any individual. The number of individuals influenced by a particular ancestor tends to increase with each generation. As a species we actively select our mates based partly on compatibility in these respects. And as the article itself notes, there is a role for older generations in nurturing members of younger generations other than just their own direct offspring, which would tend to include influencing the offspring's mates and further generations. So I'm not sure it's entirely fair to say that there are diminishing returns with each generation. It is more that the influence becomes more spread out and tends to affect culture rather than any one individual, and those whose ideas are recognised as benefitting the wider group more effectively will tend to retain more influence for longer.

gte910h 15y ago

Children share half your DNA. Grandchildren share 0-1/2 your DNA, in a normal distribution around 1/4 Similar values and distributions happen for great and great-great grandchildren centered on 1/8th and 1/16th respectively This is due to the randomness associated with the chromosome from you or your co-parent being randomly selected. A grandchild exceptionally like you might be almost 1/2 your DNA