Re: First Ark to Alpha Centauri

From: AA Institute (abdul.ahad_at_ntlworld.com)
Date: 11/27/04 

Date: 27 Nov 2004 00:48:59 -0800

"Rob Dekker" <rob@verific.com> wrote in message news:<uYQpd.49877$QJ3.9425@newssvr21.news.prodigy.com>...
> "AA Institute" <abdul.ahad@ntlworld.com> wrote in message news:adbf5bc1.0411250729.5f360c55@posting.google.com...
> > "Rob Dekker" <rob@verific.com> wrote in message news:<XMjpd.26786
> >
> > > since the population should be in
> > > the tens of thousands.
> >
> > Cheers, Rob. You need such a large number of people to keep the gene
> > pool wide over 500 generations, right?
> >
>
> Right. Otherwize you will end up with a bunch of mutants and sick people,
> or most likely they will just die out before they make it even halfway.
> Nature is pretty harsh when it comes to small gene pools.

I agree. However, accommodating a number of people beyond a couple of
thousand is going to be a real problem in my fictitious starship of
just 6 mile (diameter) x 9 mile (length) cylinder. To give the mission
the fairest possible chance I will go for people from every single
race on Earth...from aborigines through caucasians to negros... and
mongoloids! Only hope is they don't start to hack each other to death
in their cultural divides..
>
> Incidentally, most so are most human social and religious rules :
> It is NOT acceptable behavior to marry your cousin.

Yes in most countries that's true. Pakistan is one nation well known
for making it some kind of a 'rule' to keep marrying within first and
second cousins. I know, because a couple of friends of mine from that
country were forced to do this. It's very very bad practice, it makes
the offsprings have all sorts of weird allergies like exma, and other
illnesses since the diseases do not get a chance to get diluted over a
wider gene pool.

I'm very glad to say that where I come from in Bangladesh, we don't
have such a silly practice of 'in-breeding'! Ugggghhhh!

Abdul

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