Six months ago, I got an email from a man in Israel who had read one of my books, and the email said, "You don't know me, but I'm your 12th cousin." And it said, "I have a family tree with 80,000 people on it, including you, Karl Marx, and several European aristocrats." Now I did not know what to make of this. Part of me was like, okay, when's he going to ask me to wire 10,000 dollars to his Nigerian bank, right? I also thought, 80,000 relatives, do I want that? I have enough trouble with some of the ones I have already. And I won't name names, but you know who you are. But another part of me said, this is remarkable. Here I am alone in my office, but I'm not alone at all. I'm connected to 80,000 people around the world, and that's four Madison Square Gardens full of cousins. And some of them are going to be great, and some of them are going to be irritating, but they're all related to me.
Prije šest mjeseci dobio sam e-mail od jednog čovjeka iz Izraela koji je pročitao jednu od mojih knjiga i u e-mailu je pisalo sljedeće: "Ti me ne znaš, ali ja sam tvoj dvanaesti rođak.". Nadalje, pisalo je: "Imam obiteljsko stablo s 80 000 osoba, uključujući i tebe, Karla Marxa, i nekoliko europskih aristokrata." Kada sam ga pročitao, nisam znao što učiniti s time. Dio mene mislio je, u redu, kada će me zatražiti da pošaljem 10 000 dolara u njegovu Nigerijsku banku? Također sam pomislio, 80 000 rođaka, želim li to? Imam dovoljno problema s nekima koje već imam. I neću nikoga prozivati, ali vi znate na koje se to odnosi. Ali drugi dio mene je govorio: Ovo je izvanredno. Sam sam u svom uredu, a zapravo nisam uopće sam. Povezan sam s 80 000 ljudi diljem svijeta, što je kao četiri Madison Square Gardena puna rođaka. I neki od njih će biti super, neki od njih će biti iritantni, ali oni su svi povezani sa mnom.
So this email inspired me to dive into genealogy, which I always thought was a very staid and proper field, but it turns out it's going through a fascinating revolution, and a controversial one. Partly, this is because of DNA and genetic testing, but partly, it's because of the Internet. There are sites that now take the Wikipedia approach to family trees, collaboration and crowdsourcing, and what you do is, you load your family tree on, and then these sites search to see if the A.J. Jacobs in your tree is the same as the A.J. Jacobs in another tree, and if it is, then you can combine, and then you combine and combine and combine until you get these massive, mega-family trees with thousands of people on them, or even millions. I'm on something on Geni called the world family tree, which has no less than a jaw-dropping 75 million people. So that's 75 million people connected by blood or marriage, sometimes both. (Laughter) It's in all seven continents, including Antarctica. I'm on it. Many of you are on it, whether you know it or not, and you can see the links. Here's my cousin Gwyneth Paltrow. She has no idea I exist, but we are officially cousins. We have just 17 links between us.
Stoga me ovaj e-mail inspirirao da zaronim u genealogiju, za koju sam uvijek mislio da je vrlo ozbiljno i pristojno polje, ali se ispostavilo da prolazi kroz fascinantnu i kontroverznu revoluciju. Dijelom, to je zbog DNA i genetskog testiranja, ali dijelom i zbog Interneta. Postoje stranice koje preuzimaju Wikipedijin pristup obiteljskim stablima, suradnjom i crowdsourcingom, a ono što vi radite jest da učitavate svoje obiteljsko stablo, a ove stranice tada pretražuju kako bi vidjele je li A. J. Jacobs u vašem obiteljskom stablu jednak onom A. J. Jacobsu u drugom obiteljskom stablu te, ako je, možete to udruživati, udruživati, udruživati i udruživati dok ne dobijete ova ogromna, mega-obiteljska stabla s tisućama ljudi u njima, ili čak s milijunima. Ja sam u nekom takozvanom svjetskom obiteljskom stablu, koje ima vrtoglavih 75 milijuna ljudi. Dakle, to je 75 milijuna ljudi povezanih krvlju ili brakom, ili ponekad i jednim i drugim. (Smijeh) To je, dakle, na svih sedam kontinenata, uključujući i Antarktiku. Ja sam u tome. Mnogi od vas su u tome, znali to ili ne, i možete vidjeti poveznice. Ovdje je moja rođakinja Gwyneth Paltrow. Ona nema pojma da ja postojim, ali mi smo službeno rođaci. Između nas je samo 17 karika.
And there's my cousin Barack Obama. (Laughter) And he is my aunt's fifth great-aunt's husband's father's wife's seventh great-nephew, so practically my old brother.
Evo i mog rođaka Baracka Obame. (Smijeh) On je sedmi pranećak supruge oca petog pra-ujninog muža moje ujne, dakle, praktički, moj stariji brat.
And my cousin, of course, the actor Kevin Bacon -- (Laughter) — who is my first cousin's twice removed's wife's niece's husband's first cousin once removed's niece's husband. So six degrees of Kevin Bacon, plus or minus several degrees.
I, naravno, moj rođak, glumac Kevin Bacon -- (Smijeh) — koji je muž nećakinje prvog rođaka muža nećakinje žene mog rođaka drugog koljena. Dakle, 6 stupnjeva Kevina Bacona, plus ili minus koji stupanj.
Now, I'm not boasting, because all of you have famous people and historical figures in your tree, because we are all connected, and 75 million may seem like a lot, but in a few years, it's quite likely we will have a family tree with all, almost all, seven billion people on Earth.
Sada, nije da se ja hvalim, jer svatko od vas ima poznate ljude i povijesne osobe u svom stablu jer svi smo mi povezani, i 75 milijuna se može činiti kao puno, ali kroz nekoliko godina, vrlo je lako moguće da ćemo imati obiteljsko stablo sa svih, gotovo svih sedam milijardi ljudi na Zemlji.
But does it really matter? What's the importance? And I do think it is important, and I'll give you five reasons why, really quickly.
No je li to zbilja važno? U čemu je važnost? Ja mislim da je važno i dat ću vam pet vrlo kratkih razloga zašto to mislim.
First, it's got scientific value. This is an unprecedented history of the human race, and it's giving us valuable data about how diseases are inherited, how people migrate, and there's a team of scientists at MIT right now studying the world family tree.
Kao prvo, ovo ima znanstvenu vrijednost. Ovo je jedinstvena povijest ljudske rase i daje nam dragocjene podatke o tome kako su bolesti naslijeđene, kako su ljudi migrirali, i upravo sada na istraživačkom sveučilištu MIT u SAD-u postoji tim znanstvenika koji proučava svjetsko obiteljsko stablo.
Number two, it brings history alive. I found out I'm connected to Albert Einstein, so I told my seven-year-old son that, and he was totally engaged. Now Albert Einstein is not some dead white guy with weird hair. He's Uncle Albert. (Laughter) And my son wanted to know, "What did he say? What is E = MC squared?" Also, it's not all good news. I found a link to Jeffrey Dahmer, the serial killer, but I will say that's on my wife's side. (Laughter) (Applause) So I want to make that clear. Sorry, honey.
Drugo, to oživljava povijest. Ja sam saznao da sam povezan s Albertom Einsteinom, rekao sam to svom semogodišnjem sinu i njega je to okupiralo. Sada Albert Einstein nije neki mrtvi bijelac s čudnom frizurom. On je ujak Albert. (Smijeh) I mog sina je tada zanimalo: "Što je on rekao? Što znači E = MC na kvadrat?" Međutim, nije sve u dobrim vijestima. Pronašao sam poveznicu do Jeffreya Dahmera, serijskog ubojice, ali reći ću da je to rođak od strane moje žene. (Smijeh) (Pljesak) Dakle, da to raščistimo. Oprosti, dušo.
Number three, interconnectedness. We all come from the same ancestor, and you don't have to believe the literal Bible version, but scientists talk about Y chromosomal Adam and mitochondrial Eve, and these were about 100,000 to 300,000 years ago. We all have a bit of their DNA in us. They are our great-great-great-great-great-great -- continue that for about 7,000 times -- grandparents, and so that means we literally all are biological cousins as well, and estimates vary, but probably the farthest cousin you have on Earth is about a 50th cousin. Now, it's not just ancestors we share, descendants. If you have kids, and they have kids, look how quickly the descendants accumulate. So in 10, 12 generations, you're going to have thousands of offspring, and millions of offspring.
Treći razlog bi bio - međupovezanost. Svi potječemo od istih predaka, i ne morate vjerovati doslovnoj biblijskoj verziji, ali znanstvenici govore o Adamovom Y kromosomu mitohondrijima Eve starima 100 000 do 300 000 godina. Svi mi imamo maleni dio njihovog DNA u nama. oni su naši pra - pra - pra - pra - pra - pra -- i ponovite to još kojih 7 000 puta -- pradjed i prabaka, stoga, to znači da smo svi mi doslovno biološki rođaci, i procjene variraju, ali najvjerojatnije je tvoj najdalji rođak na Zemlji tvoj pedeseti rođak. Međutim, ne dijelimo samo pretke, već i potomke. Ako imate djecu i vaša djeca imaju djecu, gledajte kako se brzo potomci akumuliraju. U sljedećih deset, dvanaest generacija, imat ćete tisuće potomaka, milijune potomaka.
Number four, a kinder world. Now, I know that there are family feuds. I have three sons, so I see how they fight. But I think that there's also a human bias to treat your family a little better than strangers. I think this tree is going to be bad news for bigots, because they're going to have to realize that they are cousins with thousands of people in whatever ethnic group they happen to have issues with, and I think you look back at history, and a lot of the terrible things we've done to each other is because one group thinks another group is sub-human, and you can't do that anymore. We're not just part of the same species. We're part of the same family. We share 99.9 percent of our DNA.
Četvrti razlog: ljubazniji svijet. Dakle, znam da postoje obiteljski sukobi. Ja imam tri sina pa vidim kako se oni svađaju. Ali također vjerujem da postoji ljudska skolonost da svoju obitelj tretirate malo bolje nego strance. Mislim da će ovo stablo biti loša vijest za ljude sklone predrasudama jer će oni morati shvatiti da su rođaci s tisućama ljudi u etničkim skupinama s kojima oni imaju problema. I mislim da, kada pogledate natrag kroz povijest, mnogo loših stvari koje smo učinili jedni drugima dogodilo se zbog razmišljanja jedne skupine da je neka druga skupina manje ljudska, i to više ne možete raditi. Mi nismo samo dio iste vrste. Dio smo iste obitelji. Dijelimo 99,9 % svog DNA.
Now the final one is number five, a democratizing effect. Some genealogy has an elitist strain, like people say, "Oh, I'm descended from Mary Queen of Scots and you're not, so you cannot join my country club." But that's really going to be hard to do now, because everyone is related. I'm descended from Mary Queen of Scots -- by marriage, but still.
I, konačan broj je broj pet: efekt demokratizacije. Neko rodoslovlje ima elitističku stranu, kao kad ljudi kažu: "Ah, ja potječem od Marije I., škotske kraljice, a ti ne, stoga se ne možeš učlaniti u moj klub." A sada će to biti vrlo teško učiniti jer svi su povezani. Ja potječem od Marije I., škotske kraljice -- brakom, ali svejedno potječem.
So it's really a fascinating time in the history of family, because it's changing so fast. There is gay marriage and sperm donors and there's intermarriage on an unprecedented scale, and this makes some of my more conservative cousins a little nervous, but I actually think it's a good thing. I think the more inclusive the idea of family is, the better, because then you have more potential caretakers, and as my aunt's eighth cousin twice removed Hillary Clinton says -- (Laughter) — it takes a village.
Stoga je ovo vrlo fascinantno vrijeme za obiteljsku povijest jer se ona mijenja tako brzo. Postoje homoseksualni brakovi i donatori sperme, postoje mješoviti brakovi neviđenih razmjera, i to čini neke od mojih konzervativnih rođaka malo nervoznima, ali ja zapravo mislim da je to dobra stvar. Ja mislim da, što je ideja obitelji više uključujuća, tim bolje, jer tada imate više osoba da brinu o vama, i, kao što je osma rođakinja moje ujne Hilary Clinton rekla -- (Smijeh) — potrebno je selo.
So I have all these hundreds and thousands, millions of new cousins. I thought, what can I do with this information? And that's when I decided, why not throw a party? So that's what I'm doing. And you're all invited. Next year, next summer, I will be hosting what I hope is the biggest and best family reunion in history. (Applause) Thank you. I want you there. I want you there. It's going to be at the New York Hall of Science, which is a great venue, but it's also on the site of the former World's Fair, which is, I think, very appropriate, because I see this as a family reunion meets a world's fair. There's going to be exhibits and food, music. Paul McCartney is 11 steps away, so I'm hoping he brings his guitar. He hasn't RSVP'd yet, but fingers crossed. And there is going to be a day of speakers, of fascinating cousins. It's early, but I've already, I've got some lined up. Cass Sunstein, my cousin who is perhaps the most brilliant legal scholar, will be talking. He was a former member of the Obama administration. And on the other side of the political spectrum, George H.W. Bush, number 41, the father, he has agreed to participate, and Nick Kroll, the comedian, and Dr. Oz, and many more to come. And, of course, the most important is that you, I want you guys there, and I invite you to go to GlobalFamilyReunion.org and figure out how you're on the family tree, because these are big issues, family and tribe, and I don't know all the answers, but I have a lot of smart relatives, including you guys, so together, I think we can figure it out. Only together can we solve these big problems. So from cousin to cousin, I thank you. I can't wait to see you. Goodbye.
Dakle, imam sve ove stotine, tisuće, milijune novih rođaka. I pomislio sam, što mogu učiniti s ovim informacijama? I tada sam odlučio, zašto ne organizirati tulum? I to je ono što radim. A svi vi ste pozvani. Sljedeće godine, sljedeće ljeto, nadam se da ću biti domaćin najvećeg i najboljeg obiteljskog okupljanja u povijesti. (Pljesak) Hvala vam. Volio bih da budete tamo. Volio bih da budete tamo. Održat će se u New York Hall of Science koje je odlično mjesto, ali i mjesto bivšeg Svjetskog sajma, a to je, vjerujem, vrlo prigodno jer ja ovo vidim kao obiteljsko okupljanje koje susreće svjetski sajam. Bit će izlagača i hrane i glazbe. Paul McCartney je jedanaesto koljeno pa se nadam da će ponijeti svoju gitaru. Još nije potvrdio svoj dolazak, ali držim palčeve. Bit će i dan govornika, fascinantnih rođaka. Još je rano, ali već sam neke stvari organizirao. Govorit će Cass Sunstein, moj rođak koji je recimo najbrilijantniji pravni znanstvenik. Bio je član Obamine administracije. S druge strane političkog spektra, George H. W. Bush, broj 41, otac, također se složio da će sudjelovati, kao i Nick Kroll, komičar, Dr. Oz i još mnogi drugi. I, naravno, najvažniji ste vi, vas, ljudi, želim tamo. I pozivam vas da odete na stranicu GlobalFamilyReunion.org i vidite gdje ste na obiteljskom stablu jer ovo su velika pitanja, obitelj i pleme, a ja ne znam sve odgovore, ali imam pametne rođake uključujući i vas, stoga mislim da zajedno možemo doći do zaključaka. Samo zajedno možemo razriješiti ove velike probleme. Stoga kao rođak rođaku, vam želim zahvaliti. Jedva čekam da vas vidim. Do viđenja!
(Applause)
(Pljesak)