🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <E9qt56.6u4@iglou.com>, kefische@iglou.com (Ken Fischer) writes:
>meron@cars3.uchicago.edu wrote:
>: In article <862824010.27724@dejanews.com>, hefeng@cz3.nus.sg writes:
>: >Now: a normal person has two parents, and four great parents, and 8 great
>: >great parents, and 16......
>: >therefore whenever we trace back one generation, the number of our
>: >ancestors doubles. But if we go back the years, the population decreases!
>: >Therefore there will be a time when the no. of one's ancestors equals the
>: >total population! and after that, even greater!
>: >This is nonsense. But where did I go wrong?
>
>: By overcounting.  You're implicictly assuming that all the ancestors 
>: are different people.
>
>        But there is an obvious problem, not with 
>numbers, but with sir-names.   As the population
>is studied backward, there has to be less last names,
>so where do all the last names come from?

Actually you'll find that widespread usage of last names is a 
relatively modern phenomenon.  In Europe till the last 100-200 years 
(depending on location) last names were used primarily by the nobility 
and upper middle class.  Most people lived in small communities so you 
could refer to them by first name alone.  And if there were a few with 
the same first name (a bunch of Johns in the same village) you 
distinguished them by mentioning their father name (hence so many last 
names which translate to "son of...") their occupation (John th 
miller, John the smith, John the cooper etc.) or place of origin (lots 
of last names translate to (of + name of place).  Eventually all these 
became regular last names.

Mati Meron                      | "When you argue with a fool,
meron@cars.uchicago.edu         |  chances are he is doing just the same"