January 23, 2014
web site nobabies.net open letter
Cecil Chao Sze-tsung
Cheuk Nang Holdings Ltd.
info@cheuknang.com.hk
A friendly note. Please forward to Cecil Chao Sze-tsung.
Dear Cecil Chao Sze-tsung:
I suppose nobody doubts you are the world expert on whether you can buy grandchildren. I do wish you well. It may not be possible to buy them, but I think you can load the dice a bit.
First, and this is indisputable, the best fertility depends on having the best kinship between a man and a woman. (The best single article I have found is: An Association between Kinship and Fertility of Human Couples Agnar Helgason et al. SCIENCE vol. 329 no. 5864 February 8, 2008 page 813 – 816) This is not just a single bit of weird science. There is a mountain of supporting data. My most recent summary I posted this past New Year ’s Day on nobabies.net. Since the matter is important to you, you would be well advised to take a couple of hours or if need be a couple of days studying it. The principle holds for complex animals and even some bacteria. This is a law of nature.
But of course that is only half your problem. How can you get your daughter to fall in love with her third cousin? That might not be possible, but at least you can provide the opportunity. I imagine you are from a good family and that it has been about four generations since your family stopped marrying cousins. Still, families do stay in touch. Go back, say five or six generations, and list all your ancestors. Then find out how many of them have single descendants of the right age. Invite them all to a party.
Think about it. If the best fertility depends on marrying kin, then all animals, people included, must have some way to identify and fall in love with kin. Nature would be pretty clear on that, and it has been proven with Japanese quails (the reference is in that summary). The only reason we don’t marry cousins is because we are not honest with our feelings. At least that is what I believe. Of course unlike the fertility issue, which has been proven, the love issue is an interpretation.
Anyway, there is this party. If there is a man your daughter can love and be loved by anywhere on the planet he will be there. I sure you can design a party that is so much fun everybody will want to come. From that point it’s up to them. If it doesn’t work make sure they have enough fun so they come to another party, maybe with children this time.
Tell me what you think. I’m a doctor, and being called in the middle of the night is not a problem provided I get a few moments to pull myself together. You can send me an email and tell me when you are going to call if you like. I do let my answering machine screen my calls otherwise.
All the best of luck in your efforts, I would be happy to help in any way I can. In fact if it turns out that we are cousins (just kidding), maybe I can come to the party.
Sincerely,
M. Linton Herbert MD
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