Post #3972397

2026-07-20 01:09 UTC

@lmgenealogy@mstdn.ca I absolutely love that interpretation and second the doctor’s argument. You ARE a genetics detective! I wonder if genealogy would get more of the academic respect it deserves (but doesn’t get in Certain Circles) if it was called something like Longitudinal Genetics.

Replies (1)

@lmgenealogy@mstdn.ca 2026-07-20 23:25

@kmherkes@wandering.shop Hiya, Karen! How's you? I think the problem with genealogy is that in the past it tended to be old ladies mostly concerned with proving their own families' descent from royalty or whatever. So it used to be a lot more myth than fact. But at least within the wider field of history there seems to be more awareness now that some of us are actual historians, who use the same primary sources and the same research methodology that historians do (and some of us also have history degrees). Additionally, our knowledge of dna and what it can (and can't) tell us has meant many genealogists are now regularly called on as expert witnesses in criminal trials. So we're making progress! Some branches of history now consult with genealogists for micro-level data that they used to just look over, and I recently encountered a young man in the final stages of his history degree who wants to be a genealogist - that would never have happened thirty years ago.

Open ##3972396