"With 80-however many people there were on Destiny, did they really have enough people to create a stable gene pool that would last 2000 years?"
Probably, but it depends on what interesting mating situations occur in the third or fourth generation. As long as it's a possibility, I don't have a problem with it. There was enough genetic diversity, although I expect that there would be an increase in birth defects for the first 75-200 years, maybe even a little earlier.
"But don't all you good Christians believe we started with just two people?"
Yes
"According to the Bible, we're all descendant from Adam and Eve (2 people). If 2 people are enough to eventually create a civilization of BILLIONS, why can't a group of 60-80 people form a civilization of MILLIONS (which is less) ?"
Our culture is stunningly biblically illiterate, which is why most people shouldn't even be discussing the Bible or Christian theology. The fallen state of nature and mankind with the corruption that went along with it also involved the degradation of the human genome. True, the Bible doesn't talk about the mechanism of inheritance as such, but it does talk in general terms about how when God first created Man, He created Him perfect and good. Since He is not a god of the dead but of the living, he did not create the human body initially to be subject to death, disease, suffering, or any form of corruption. It happened later when sin was introduced. Death was the consequence of sin.
That means Adam, Eve, and their children were free to "inbreed" without risk of passing on genetic mutations. The idea of corruption does not necessarily entail something that happens all of a sudden, but something that happens insidiously over time. At first, Adam, Eve, and their children and grandchildren were "safe," but over time as recessive mutations began to develop and thrive, inbreeding became more and more of a risk until at the the Pentateuch when the law specifically stated that close familial sexual relations were *now* forbidden.
As well, Adam and Eve probably had more genetic diversity than we do (esp. considering the bottleneck element of the Flood). If we go back to basic high school genetics, we understand for instance that there is a dominant gene for one eye colour and a weaker gene for another - the genotype and phenotype. While it's possible that a single person may have two genes that are essentially the same (the BB), Adam and Eve could have both had (Bb), although, I suppose there could have been four possibilities (say Bb and Aa).
So, yes, there is a case to be made that the Destiny crew may not have been able to sustain their population genetically, even if you believe that the human race came from two people.
"2000 years did not make an advanced society like that quite believable. Maybe they went back farther, like 20,000 years or something."
Yes and no.
Necessity is often the mother of invention. Human beings don't have long memories. After the second or third generation, they wouldn't have retained the knowledge if it wasn't immediately usable, esp. if they lived in too harsh or too pleasant conditions. I expect what would have happened is that some Novan populations were more advanced than others, but I don't expect SGU to discuss that. I had a hard time suspending disbelief throughout most of the episode.
Probably, but it depends on what interesting mating situations occur in the third or fourth generation. As long as it's a possibility, I don't have a problem with it. There was enough genetic diversity, although I expect that there would be an increase in birth defects for the first 75-200 years, maybe even a little earlier.
"But don't all you good Christians believe we started with just two people?"
Yes
"According to the Bible, we're all descendant from Adam and Eve (2 people). If 2 people are enough to eventually create a civilization of BILLIONS, why can't a group of 60-80 people form a civilization of MILLIONS (which is less) ?"
Our culture is stunningly biblically illiterate, which is why most people shouldn't even be discussing the Bible or Christian theology. The fallen state of nature and mankind with the corruption that went along with it also involved the degradation of the human genome. True, the Bible doesn't talk about the mechanism of inheritance as such, but it does talk in general terms about how when God first created Man, He created Him perfect and good. Since He is not a god of the dead but of the living, he did not create the human body initially to be subject to death, disease, suffering, or any form of corruption. It happened later when sin was introduced. Death was the consequence of sin.
That means Adam, Eve, and their children were free to "inbreed" without risk of passing on genetic mutations. The idea of corruption does not necessarily entail something that happens all of a sudden, but something that happens insidiously over time. At first, Adam, Eve, and their children and grandchildren were "safe," but over time as recessive mutations began to develop and thrive, inbreeding became more and more of a risk until at the the Pentateuch when the law specifically stated that close familial sexual relations were *now* forbidden.
As well, Adam and Eve probably had more genetic diversity than we do (esp. considering the bottleneck element of the Flood). If we go back to basic high school genetics, we understand for instance that there is a dominant gene for one eye colour and a weaker gene for another - the genotype and phenotype. While it's possible that a single person may have two genes that are essentially the same (the BB), Adam and Eve could have both had (Bb), although, I suppose there could have been four possibilities (say Bb and Aa).
So, yes, there is a case to be made that the Destiny crew may not have been able to sustain their population genetically, even if you believe that the human race came from two people.
"2000 years did not make an advanced society like that quite believable. Maybe they went back farther, like 20,000 years or something."
Yes and no.
Necessity is often the mother of invention. Human beings don't have long memories. After the second or third generation, they wouldn't have retained the knowledge if it wasn't immediately usable, esp. if they lived in too harsh or too pleasant conditions. I expect what would have happened is that some Novan populations were more advanced than others, but I don't expect SGU to discuss that. I had a hard time suspending disbelief throughout most of the episode.
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