Here and There

I heard something yesterday that reminded me of a debate I had six years ago.

“Yeah, Boston Terriers are one-third French Bulldog.”

First, and off the point, Boston terriers and French bulldogs share a common ancestor (English bulldog), but are on separate branches of the canine tree.

My real problem is this phrase “one-third.” By definition, no one (no human, no dog or other animal) can be one-third anything. Every human necessarily has two parents, four grandparents, eight great-grandparents, and so on. If you have, say, three Polish grandparents and one Japanese, you’re three-fourths Polish, one-fourth Japanese.

Same thing if you have two Polish grandparents, one Japanese, and one Somalian. You’re not one-third Polish. You are half Polish, one-quarter Japanese, one-quarter Somalian.

All cumulative percentages of ancestral make-up must be expressed in halves, quarters, eighths, sixteenth, and so on.

Okay, math isn’t my greatest skill, so someone check me on this, please.

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