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In praise of… kith and kin In praise of… kith and kin
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It seems there is less difference between kith and kin than normally supposed. An American study has concluded that when we choose friends, or kith in Old English, we choose disproportionately from among those genetically similar to our families, or kin. Our friends may be as close to us as fourth cousins. Since few of us know who our fourth cousins are, they could indeed actually be our fourth cousins. This is another of those investigations which show that like gravitates toward like, as in work which has suggested that people choose partners, or even pets, that resemble themselves or their parents. Yet the most famous of all quotations on kin, Ulysses's declaration in Troilus and Cressida that "One touch of nature makes the whole world kin " suggests our similarities are overwhelmingly more important than our differences. Does any of this matter ? The short answer is no. The long answer is also no. But it's fun to think about, isn't it ? It seems there is less difference between kith and kin than normally supposed. An American study has concluded that when we choose friends, or kith in Old English, we choose disproportionately from among those genetically similar to our families, or kin. Our friends may be as close to us as fourth cousins. Since few of us know who our fourth cousins are, they could indeed actually be our fourth cousins. This is another of those investigations which show that like gravitates toward like, as in work which has suggested that people choose partners, or even pets, that resemble themselves or their parents. Yet the most famous of all quotations on kin, Ulysses's declaration in Troilus and Cressida that "One touch of nature makes the whole world kin", suggests our similarities are overwhelmingly more important than our differences. Does any of this matter? The short answer is no. The long answer is also no. But it's fun to think about, isn't it?