Someone told me of a hunter who shot a bear that was 1/3 polar bear and 2/3 grizzly bear. I said that was impossible for the bear to have been 1/3 anything and 2/3 anything because the bear has TWO parents. So it can only be 1/2 polar bear and 1/2 grizzly bear.
Even if you go back another generation, the bear has 4 grandparents, not 3, so the proportions of grizzly to polar can only be measured with fractions that have denominators of 4.
I told him that if my father were Native American and my mother were Spanish, that would make me 1/2 Native American and 1/2 Spanish. If only my father's father were Native American and my other 3 grandparents were Spanish, that would make me 1/4 Native American and 3/4 Spanish.
I told him you could never be 1/3 anything because no matter how many generations back you go, you can never get a denominator common with three.
2006-08-08
06:15:51
·
12 answers
·
asked by
Violet B
3