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You do realize that by sending the false information you are screwing it up for everyone who matches you, do you not? You also mess up the way they determine the health information. Please do NOT do that!
Yes, the ancestral composition you get from different companies may vary just because the reference populations are different. None of the companies test your entire genome. That does not mean any of them are "ridiculous."
It would be more helpful if you explained why you think the 23AndMe information is inaccurate.
95.5% European
77.9 % Northern European
9.5% British & Irish
0.1% Finnish 68.2% Nonspecific Northern European
0.0% Southern European
0.0% Eastern European
0.0% Ashkenazi 17.7% Nonspecific European
3.7% Sub-Saharan African
? West African
? East African
? Central & South African 3.7% Nonspecific Sub-Saharan African
0.8% Unassigned
Conservative estimate:
94.5% European
1.0% British & Irish 43% Nonspecific Northern European 50.5% Nonspecific European
3.5% Sub-Saharan 3.5% Nonspecific Sub-Saharan
2.0% Unassigned
_____________________________________________
Worthless. Frankly, even the Conservative Estimate, at 90% confidence raises issues. I'd love to see what my results would be with a confidence level of 95% or higher. I'm guessing my Nonspecific Northern European estimate would significantly decrease or entirely disappear.
"The default Standard Estimate corresponds to 75% confidence. You have the option to make the estimate more strict (the Conservative Estimate is at 90% confidence) or more lenient (the Speculative Estimate is at 50% confidence)."
I would have posted my Speculative Estimate, but a confidence level of 50% is equivalent to a coin toss. The Standard Estimate is not much better (statistically speaking). 23andme should stick to health risk analysis and family finder. Seriously.
It is still not clear what problem you have with with your results. Were you expecting something other than mostly European? Does it conflict with your family tree? How many relative matches do you have?
You do realize that by sending the false information you are screwing it up for everyone who matches you, do you not? You also mess up the way they determine the health information. Please do NOT do that!
Yes, the ancestral composition you get from different companies may vary just because the reference populations are different. None of the companies test your entire genome. That does not mean any of them are "ridiculous."
It would be more helpful if you explained why you think the 23AndMe information is inaccurate.
Not being snarky here, but please tell me why it messes up potential matches? Are you referring to the countries of ancestry? No problem, mine would all be U.S.A.
What I find interesting is that your observation clearly demonstrates that some (many?) of the anonymous subscribers could very easily (and probably do) provide fictional information to protect their anonymity. Those subscribers are INCLUDED in the reference populations for both ancestry and traits. The majority of 23andMe subscribers are interested in learning their health risks, not their ancestry.
I'm not arguing that my results are "inaccurate", I'm stating that they are worthless based on 23andMe's reference populations and relatively low confidence level. If I said I was 50% German (which I'm not) my results would still be "accurate" even though Germany is not identified in my estimates. BTW, it's 23andMe (and the other companies) that have the responsibility of proving their estimates are accurate and based on sound methodology, not the subscriber. Which raises another question, why would an average genealogist rely on the validity of 23andMe's ancestral results in the first place?
I think the most likely outcome will be that they flag you as the same person you first entered yourself as. But if they don't and you got a different ancestry then that will be very interesting. I love the science behind the whole thing but don't think they should be basing results on what anonymous random people self report as that is not a particularly rigorous scientific method. In fact their probably isn't a worse way to do it.
I love the service and think the value is unprecedented in what you get for $99. Just think about what you pay for a basic blood test with just a few test results. I am a huge cheerleader. But that doesn't mean people shouldn't know the limits of what is being provided and that their methodology should not be questioned and refined.
Not being snarky here, but please tell me why it messes up potential matches? Are you referring to the countries of ancestry? No problem, mine would all be U.S.A.
What I find interesting is that your observation clearly demonstrates that some (many?) of the anonymous subscribers could very easily (and probably do) provide fictional information to protect their anonymity. Those subscribers are INCLUDED in the reference populations for both ancestry and traits. The majority of 23andMe subscribers are interested in learning their health risks, not their ancestry.
I'm not arguing that my results are "inaccurate", I'm stating that they are worthless based on 23andMe's reference populations and relatively low confidence level. If I said I was 50% German (which I'm not) my results would still be "accurate" even though Germany is not identified in my estimates. BTW, it's 23andMe (and the other companies) that have the responsibility of proving their estimates are accurate and based on sound methodology, not the subscriber. Which raises another question, why would an average genealogist rely on the validity of 23andMe's ancestral results in the first place?
People who are participating are trying to find matches to help fill out their family trees. If you give fictional names for ancestors, that will not work. Other participants will waste time trying to contact you, thinking they have found someone with whom they share a common ancestor. You will have DNA matches with a fictional family tree. Please do not do that.
It is not necessary to provide fictional information to remain anonymous. Just decline any requests to share info, though it is frustrating to find close cousins who do not want to share.
The same with the health information. By giving fake info, you skew the results of matching certain genes to certain traits. I actually suspect that your account could be flagged if their were enough discrepancies between your genetic material and your fake medical history.
If enough people did what you are thinking about doing, it would make the whole exercise worthless for all of us.
While the deep ancestry results are interesting, they really are not all that helpful if you are researching your family tree and you happen to be mainly European. The gene panels just cannot reliably separate people whose ancestors came from a relatively tight geographic area 500 years ago. It is not reasonable at this point to expect that. In fact, the ancestor you think came from England might actually have immigrated there from somewhere else (say Germany).
I really think you need to rein in your expectations a bit about what deep ancestry means. The more people who participate and provide accurate information, the more detailed the breakdown can become in the future.
If you want to retest, send another kit. Just do not make up a fake family and a fake medical history to go with it.
I think the most likely outcome will be that they flag you as the same person you first entered yourself as. But if they don't and you got a different ancestry then that will be very interesting. I love the science behind the whole thing but don't think they should be basing results on what anonymous random people self report as that is not a particularly rigorous scientific method. In fact their probably isn't a worse way to do it.
I love the service and think the value is unprecedented in what you get for $99. Just think about what you pay for a basic blood test with just a few test results. I am a huge cheerleader. But that doesn't mean people shouldn't know the limits of what is being provided and that their methodology should not be questioned and refined.
I had not thought about that. Actually, they would immediately know the second kit was a duplicate of the first.
If you think about it what does it matter? If they had an issue then you have to wait-that is simple. I do know the anticipation is hard but have patience and it will happen.
"I went from 996 to 960. Why?" that is happening to me too. This is my basic understanding and more people test and the tests get better at discerning relations you will have more accurate stats.
I agree with this "People who are participating are trying to find matches to help fill out their family trees. If you give fictional names for ancestors, that will not work. Other participants will waste time trying to contact you, thinking they have found someone with whom they share a common ancestor. You will have DNA matches with a fictional family tree. Please do not do that."
I also contacted one person because their nickname was a surname of mine, it was a time waster.
It is better to just go in and mark certain areas as private. I see others do that. Also they go in and when they do their GEDCOM tree they just put accurate info for ancestors that have died and going back and all living relatives put private. That way you can still have some sharing of knowledge yet protect yourself.
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