Homogeneous children

Posted by Ole tex on March 16, 2004

In Reply to: Homogeneous children posted by Putenschnitzel on March 16, 2004

: What is meant by nthe term homogeneous children.
: Thank You
I'll take a crack at this one, speaking as a genealogist who studies family structure a lot. I have heard this term applied to families often, but rarely to children alone. By definition a homogeneous family would be-
{(A,B):ab1,ab2,ab3}
which would describe a family of parents A&B along with three children begotten by their own efforts. Anything else would be classified as hetrogeneous.
If you apply the term to children alone it would describe not only the above, but also-
{():ab1,ab2,ab3}
{(A):ab1,ab2,ab3}
{(A,C):ab1,ab2,ab3}
You will also have to consider the following situation-
{(A,C):ab1}.and.{(B,D):ab2,ab3}
and the subsequent:
{(A,C):ab1,ac1}.and.{(B,D):ab2,ab3,bd1}
two obviously hetrogeneous families but containing the subset {ab1,ab2,ab3} of homogeneous children. The children have not changed, regardless of what the parents do. Arrrrgh!
I will mention, but not pursue, many studies that have shown 5 to 10 percent of children born have no genetic relationship to the father listed on the birth certificate. Also, sooner or later, someone will manage to clone a human child, fulfilling the ultimate egotist's dream. Ponder that one. My head hurts. I'll think about this tomorrow.