Re: Being the mother of yourself?

David Johnston wrote:
On Tue, 29 Sep 2009 08:55:41 -0700 (PDT), Michael Grosberg
<grosberg.michael@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On Sep 27, 11:22�pm, elfbuttpiratespoororc <goingtowarby...@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

I dunno if there'd be any genetic paradox in this, but it does make
being your own dad at least somewhat plausible. �But I can't think of
any scenario that lets a character become her own biological mother.
Have there been any stories that involve either type of situation?
Thanks

Why not? what's the difference? There is, of course, a paradox - when
one is one's own parent, half the genetic information apparently comes
from "nowhere" - appears fully formed in the timeline - and is not
inherited from any actual person. But it's the same paradox in both
cases.

No, there's another. There's a feedback issue in that heredity adds
up. The offspring can't provide half the genetic material in the
offspring because half of the genetic material in the "parent" is that
of the other parent. It only works when the two parents are clones so
it doesn't make a difference.

I may be mistaken but I think the paradox is less for being your own
mother, since you have two X chromosomes. If you're your own father,
you /almost/ certainly have one X and one Y, and where did the latter
come from?

Incidentally, I think Douglas Adams had in mind becoming your own
grandfather, not father, although I think the usual grandfather
paradox is /killing/ your grandfather before your father was
conceived.

Also, isn't a grandparent typically only as genetically similar to you
as a first cousin... um, no... maybe... but anyway less so than a
parent. First cousins are legal in some places or times, and more
distant cousins acceptable almost everywhere:

Let's see. Discounting mutations and rmitochondria, about one-quarter
of your DNA comes from one grandparent.

A first cousin in a regular family tree also has one-quarter of their
DNA from that grandparent.

About one-sixteenth of that granparent's DNA is in you /and/ in your
first cousin. I think.

You have /another/ grandparent in common, so I suppose you and your
first cousin have one-eight of your DNA commonly inherited.
.

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