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I'm not going to sit here and trade personal insults with you, because I am uninterested in that sort of conversation.
"Where our ancestors are from" does play a significant role in our interests, lifestyle, preferences, etc in many cases. And from a genetic point of view, we truly don't know exactly how much of our affinity for a particular lifestyle or ethnic group is determined by our ancestry.
In another thread on English food, I noted that I was surprised at how similar so many traditional English foods are to the traditional Southern foods that I grew up with. This shouldn't have surprised me, though, considering that my ancestors brought their country's cooking styles with them when they moved from England and Scotland and Ireland to the US.
Many ballads and traditional songs in the US, and the US South (and Appalachian region in particular) have their roots in traditional songs from the British Isles. This is also from our shared heritage.
So much of England felt familiar to me, from a combination of the effects of my ancestry and family traditions, all the books and movies and art that I have always been drawn to that are from the UK, and my love of history. For example - the Tower of London and Westminster Abbey - though I had never been there, they immediately felt familiar to me, because I had read so much about them and seen so many photos and videos. It also was very interesting to me to find the graves or historical markers of distant ancestors. Of course I would feel an affinity in those circumstances. It's neither surprising, nor naive.
What you have just written makes perfect sense.
But you mentioned genes in your previous posts... And those, I'm sorry, are not really part of the equation...
What you have just written makes perfect sense.
But you mentioned genes in your previous posts... And those, I'm sorry, are not really part of the equation...
I'm not sure that any of us can say with certainty exactly what role genetics play in a person's affinity for a particular culture. If you've got a source that nails that down, I'd love to see it.
That being said, my original statement about being genetically from the British Isles (genetically speaking, I am 98.8 percent "northern European" with the majority of that ancestry coming from what is now the UK) wasn't meant to be taken as "the reason why I'm so interested in the UK is because my genes dictate that." Which is why I went into detail about loving European history, reading so much English lit at an early age (and on into adulthood for that matter), etc. I do believe that there's a possibility that our genetic makeup does influence our affinity for certain lifestyles and societies but I do NOT believe that our genes are the main factor in that equation - not by a long shot. I believe that many factors come into play when it comes to our affinity or the "draw" we may feel toward certain cultures.
And from a genetic point of view, we truly don't know exactly how much of our affinity for a particular lifestyle or ethnic group is determined by our ancestry.
Oh, I've just seen you edited your post.
I nearly missed another astonishing statement!
Please, drop it.
I'm beginning to feel vicarious embarrassment...
Oh, I've just seen you edited your post.
I nearly missed another astonishing statement!
Please, drop it.
I'm beginning to feel vicarious embarrassment...
Don't worry about me - I'm pretty stoic. All those genes from the British Isles, you know.
I also prefer to discuss topics and support them with sources that consist of more than simply my personal opinion. For instance, the foods we gravitate toward (and as you know, foods make up a big part of what we call the culture of a society) are influenced by our DNA:
Studies on identical twins separated at birth show an often amazing similarity in likes, dislikes, life choices, etc. which were not likely to have been the result of their environment, considering their environments were so different.
Interesting aside note - I like dark beer, which is bitter to some people. I also like brussel sprouts, which have a bitter taste to them as well to some people. Get this - there is a gene which determines whether or not you can taste the bitterness in those two (and other) foods/drink. Those who do not have that particular genetic marker do not taste that bitterness and therefore are more likely to enjoy the taste of dark beer or brussel sprouts. Interesting, huh? I think so anyway.
Is there any British genetic marker for Balconing? Fascinating sport!!!
Is there any British genetic marker? No.
Your theory is indeed romantic, and could show some promise if western Europeans, and Homo Sapiens, were not that promiscuous and lived in very small hamlets with no contact with the rest of humanity during 1.000.000 years.
But if that were the case, Homo Sapiens would be extinct by now.
Is there any British genetic marker for Balconing? Fascinating sport!!!
Is there any British genetic marker? No.
Your theory is indeed romantic, and could show some promise if western Europeans, and Homo Sapiens, were not that promiscuous and lived in very small hamlets with no contact with the rest of humanity during 1.000.000 years.
But if that were the case, Homo Sapiens would be extinct by now.
Genetic research is indeed fascinating, and thankfully those who study it take a more scholarly approach to it than either you or I, apparently. I do enjoy reading up on it though. For instance, it was interesting to me that the like or dislike of particular types of beer, or food in general, is directly tied to our DNA. Whoduthunkit?
Genetic research is indeed fascinating, and thankfully those who study it take a more scholarly approach to it than either you or I, apparently. I do enjoy reading up on it though. For instance, it was interesting to me that the like or dislike of particular types of beer, or food in general, is directly tied to our DNA. Whoduthunkit?
In terms of British Ancestry it's as much Basque as anything else, at least according to world renowned Genetics expert Professor Stephen Oppenheimer of the University of Oxford and Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.
Sure, but you can't target those markers to any specific region or countries, they appear randomly even within a family.
Homo Sapiens eat any food, taste is cultural, this is the reason why Homo Sapiens survived, humans eat anything, including their own. There are specific mutations like lactose tolerance, but those are too general and too modern.
All Europeans drink beer since antiquity, during the last 10.000 and it was sour beer until Germans invented modern beer 400 years ago.
In terms of British Ancestry it's as much Basque as anything else, at least according to world renowned Genetics expert Professor Stephen Oppenheimer of the University of Oxford and Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.
The Basque region and Aquitaine were glacier shelters inhabited by r1b that came from the Caucasus passing through Europe. It's not that English are Basque or anything like that.
The UK was reoccupied starting 9.000 years ago, after the glaciation, with people living in glacier shelters..that came from the Caucasus after living in central Europe.
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