What odds my conception
Blog Posted by
Kevin Shaw: 7/20/2019 5:52:00 PM
I have been engrossed in Genealogy of late and on one side have actually gone back to 1507
It got me thinking though about the unfavourable odds that I would ever exist.
If I went back in time on my Fathers side by eight generations to the year of Thomas born 1781. It would take a combination of 256 people coming together to create 128 pairs. So on these facts alone at the very best odds it would be 256/1 against me ever being concieved. In terms of winning the Lottery or seeing Aliens from Mars these may seem quite short odds but if you asked someone to guess a number that you have written down between 1 and 256 how long if ever will they take to guess correctly
Nothing to do with poetry but does give you an idea of how unlikely it was that any of us would exist,
Eight generations of my family
To Thomas on my Fathers side
Born in Blackburn Lancashire,1781
Records say he was a Weavers son
It got me thinking of my existence
Ruminating perhaps to deeply, but
What were the odds of me being conceived.
Best odds 256 to one