Genealogy: Just a binary progression

This may get a little confusing, but don’t worry. Don’t spend too much time trying to figure out the first two paragraphs. The examples make it clearer.

Long before I dove into genealogy, I was a computer geek.  Networking was my field.  This meant I needed an understanding of binary progressions. Well, I said I was a geek!  You may have noticed that with computers (and Gaming systems) certain numbers come up a lot. For example in gaming there are 16-Bit, 32-Bit, 64-Bit systems. In computers the number 256, 512 and 1024 come up often. These numbers have two things in common. They are all even numbers and each one is the result of 2 raised to a power.
2^1=2
2^2=4
2^3=8
2^4=16
2^5=32
2^6=64
2^7=128
2^8=256
2^9=512
2^10=1024

A family tree is also a binary progression. Substitute the number of generations back that a certain ancestor is and you get the exponent (the power by which 2 will be raised.) The result of raising 2 to the “generational power” is the number of ancestors you have in that generation.It may sound complicated, but it isn’t really. Huh?? Check out the example.

Example 1: Your parents are 1 generation back from you. So raise 2 by a power of 1 and you get 2. (2^1=2)
In this case the answer 2 is the number of ancestors in the generation right before yours. You have 2 parents.

Example 2: Two generations back would be 2 raised by the power of 2 (2^2) which equals 4. You have 4 grandparents. Each of your parents had two parents.

Example 3: How many Great Grandparents would you have? Well, “Greats” are 3 generations back. So, 2^3=8
Each of your 4 grandparents had 2 parents.

Ever wonder how many Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandparents (5th-Great Grandparents) you had? Well the 5th-Greats are 7 generations back (don’t forget to add your parent’s and grandparent’s generations).
2^7=128 (5th-Great Grandparents)

Ten generations back there were 1024 of my ancestors scampering around the planet. Each step backward causes the number to double. You can see why most of us are related in one way or another.

For me, my ancestors 7 generations back were teens/adults during the Revolutionary War. This helps explain why I have so many ancestors who fought in the Revolution.