Dopplegangers...

GuanYin

Last week I was told twice I look like Jon from Big Brother.
Now, I don't, but it got me thinking about how lots of people say "soandso looks the spitting image of X" etc etc...

Inspired by simu and her (I think she's a her) posting on How many humans have there been? I started to think that there is actually only a limited number of alleles for each gene related to appearance and, vastly numerous as those combinations are, when you take the population of the planet over a long enough timescale you would be bound to get people who have a similar combination.

Now this wouldn't be enough to look alike, but in the right conditions you would expect to have people who look alike, especially in a more closed society where the gene pool may be on the shallow side (Iceland or even Ireland for instance).

I really need to think about this more, but has anyone else noticed how there are alot of people with a certain type of facial feature?

Current fashion and such would also play a part (fake tan, hair colour) but for the most part, eyes, nose, facial structure etc it could be put down to genes.

What do people think? (oh, and who do you look like? )

simu

Yup, this is noticeable when you travel as well. There are definitely some facial features that look really Irish or that remind you of a particular place. I can't be of much help though because I find it very hard to describe faces, I'd have to draw pictures!

For example, in Italy, I saw lots of faces that reminded me of paintings by Italian artists. Before I'd travelled there, I'd associated this type of face with renaissance or medieval times and it was funny to see kids going around wearing walkmans and sunglasses, with such facial features.

I've been told I look like: Zhang Ziyi from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon(I sort of do though she's Chinese and I'm Irish) and also like Renee Zellwegger(was not happy to hear that and also I don't think it's true) and a guy I met recently said he knew a girl who looked exactly like me which freaked me out, actually. (Why are humans so obsessed with being unique?)

To get back to science, (this is a science board after all:)), I remember hearing about a year ago that some company had gotten permission from the Icelandic government to study the genetic make-up of the people there. Iceland was a pretty isolated country until recently and records of weddings and births have been kept there assiduously for centuries so it should be possible to trace how certain traits were passed amongst the populace apparently.

More info here:
http://www.cio.com/archive/071501/dilemma.html

GuanYin

Yeah its funny you mention that.
On thinking about it, some of the people I'm told I look like are a different race.

I often wonder what the world would be like without hair dyes and make up. would people look more or less alike.

I know sisters that looked totally alike up until their twenties and then one changed her image totally and you'd never tell they were related.

superconor

i have been told that i look like Geoff Rowley (a skater)
and my sister looks strikingly like my dads cousin, i mean they use each others id's for example
i think the idea of doppelgangers is likely, however i think that if they were to meet it would have drastic consequences.

sci0x

Loads of people tell me I look like Colm Cooper who plays for Kerry. This is bcoz we both have red hair and my ears kinda stick out but hes does a lot more!

CuLT

I've been told I look like Spike from Buffy.


...no, I don't think I do.

BoobeR

People say i look exaclty the same as some guy from a Sunny D ad :S
People on the street have asked me too. and as far as i hear This guys handsome ... raaaaar lol