The Shallow Roots of the Human Family Tree

An anonymous reader writes to mention an AP story about research discussing the relatively recent origins of every human on earth. Despite the age of our species, every human on earth can trace their ancestry back to someone who may have lived as recently as the Golden Age of Greece (around 500 BC). From the article: "It is human nature to wonder about our ancestors -- who they were, where they lived, what they were like. People trace their genealogy, collect antiques and visit historical sites hoping to capture just a glimpse of those who came before, to locate themselves in the sweep of history and position themselves in the web of human existence. But few people realize just how intricately that web connects them not just to people living on the planet today, but to everyone who ever lived."

Comments

Accuracy...

[Transcendent]

With the help of a statistician, a computer scientist and a supercomputer, Olson has calculated just how interconnected the human family tree is. You would have to go back in time only 2,000 to 5,000 years -- and probably on the low side of that range -- to find somebody who could count every person alive today as a descendant.

Oh yea, because a statistician and a computer scientist are so infallible to being with, put them together and the result must be absolutely perfect!

That timeline seems absolutely ridiculous.

Re:Er, what?

[MarkByers]

Funny post!

No idea why it has been modded troll though... I have noticed that a lot of posts have been modded troll recently for no reason. What's up with the moderating system? Isn't meta-moderating supposed to remove problematic moderators?