• volvoxvsmarla @lemm.ee
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    2 months ago

    I remember reading he was one third German and sometimes I cannot sleep at night because I am trying to figure out the math. This has been like 15 years ago and it still bugs me.

    • Dozzi92@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      Sprinkle in a little incest and we are good to go.

      I also have no idea, I thought it was all halves of halves.

      • pjwestin@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        You can get some odd fractions by two parents having similar lineages. Like, if your mother is Irish, and your great-grandmother on your father’s side is Irish, you would be five-eighths Irish. I’m having trouble finding a combination that gives you thirds, though.

        • L3dpen@lemmy.ml
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          2 months ago

          Doesn’t exist, 3 is prime. No combination of 2^-n will get you a 3 in the denominator.

          …unless somewhere along the tree there’s a person who shows up twice.

          • pjwestin@lemmy.world
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            2 months ago

            Gotcha. Three-eighths is roughly one-third, so I guess that? One-quarter German on one side, one-eighth on the other?

            • L3dpen@lemmy.ml
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              2 months ago

              That rounding error would be small enough that most people would consider it less bad than incest, maybe.