TEDActive 2014
AJ Jacobs: The world's largest family reunion ... we're all invited!
Filmed:
Readability: 3.7
1,237,942 views
You may not know it yet, but AJ Jacobs is probably your cousin (many, many times removed). Using genealogy websites, he's been following the unexpected links that make us all, however distantly, related. His goal: to throw the world's largest family reunion. See you there?
AJ Jacobs - Author
Immersing himself in alternate lifestyles and long, hilarious experiments (usually with himself the guinea pig), writer AJ Jacobs tests the limits of behavior, customs, culture, knowledge -- and his wife's sense of humor. Full bio
Immersing himself in alternate lifestyles and long, hilarious experiments (usually with himself the guinea pig), writer AJ Jacobs tests the limits of behavior, customs, culture, knowledge -- and his wife's sense of humor. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
Six months ago, I got an email
0
492
2181
00:14
from a man in Israel
1
2673
1407
00:16
who had read one of my books,
2
4080
1381
00:17
and the email said,
3
5461
1503
00:18
"You don't know me,
4
6964
2007
00:20
but I'm your 12th cousin."
5
8971
2472
00:23
And it said, "I have a family tree
6
11443
2377
00:25
with 80,000 people on it, including you,
7
13820
3904
00:29
Karl Marx,
8
17724
1154
00:30
and several European aristocrats."
9
18878
2600
00:33
Now I did not know what to make of this.
10
21478
2402
00:35
Part of me was like, okay,
11
23880
2351
00:38
when's he going to ask me to wire
12
26231
1960
00:40
10,000 dollars to his Nigerian bank, right?
13
28191
3697
00:43
I also thought, 80,000 relatives,
14
31888
3673
00:47
do I want that?
15
35576
1278
00:48
I have enough trouble with some of the ones
16
36854
1818
00:50
I have already.
17
38672
1437
00:52
And I won't name names, but you know who you are.
18
40109
3666
00:55
But another part of me said, this is remarkable.
19
43775
3249
00:59
Here I am alone in my office, but I'm not alone at all.
20
47024
2736
01:01
I'm connected to 80,000 people around the world,
21
49760
3560
01:05
and that's four Madison Square Gardens
22
53320
3377
01:08
full of cousins.
23
56697
1715
01:10
And some of them are going to be great,
24
58412
2937
01:13
and some of them are going to be irritating,
25
61349
2330
01:15
but they're all related to me.
26
63679
2816
01:18
So this email inspired me to dive into genealogy,
27
66495
3871
01:22
which I always thought was
a very staid and proper field,
a very staid and proper field,
28
70366
3400
01:25
but it turns out it's going through a fascinating
29
73766
2925
01:28
revolution, and a controversial one.
30
76691
2493
01:31
Partly, this is because of DNA and genetic testing,
31
79184
3766
01:34
but partly, it's because of the Internet.
32
82950
3950
01:38
There are sites that now take
33
86900
1760
01:40
the Wikipedia approach to family trees,
34
88660
3167
01:43
collaboration and crowdsourcing,
35
91827
2353
01:46
and what you do is,
36
94180
1178
01:47
you load your family tree on,
37
95358
2882
01:50
and then these sites search
38
98240
1480
01:51
to see if the A.J. Jacobs in your tree
39
99720
2682
01:54
is the same as the A.J. Jacobs in another tree,
40
102402
2480
01:56
and if it is, then you can combine,
41
104882
3233
02:00
and then you combine and combine and combine
42
108115
1895
02:02
until you get these massive,
43
110010
1901
02:03
mega-family trees
44
111911
1850
02:05
with thousands of people on them,
45
113761
2501
02:08
or even millions.
46
116262
1415
02:09
I'm on something on Geni called
47
117677
2327
02:12
the world family tree,
48
120004
1926
02:13
which has no less than a jaw-dropping
49
121930
2557
02:16
75 million people.
50
124487
3530
02:20
So that's 75 million people connected by blood
51
128017
3840
02:23
or marriage, sometimes both.
52
131857
2480
02:26
(Laughter)
53
134337
2567
02:28
It's in all seven continents, including Antarctica.
54
136904
4185
02:33
I'm on it. Many of you are on it,
55
141089
2377
02:35
whether you know it or not,
56
143466
1704
02:37
and you can see the links.
57
145170
2464
02:39
Here's my cousin Gwyneth Paltrow.
58
147634
4592
02:44
She has no idea I exist,
59
152226
1883
02:46
but we are officially cousins.
60
154109
2691
02:48
We have just 17 links between us.
61
156800
4196
02:52
And there's my cousin Barack Obama.
62
160996
2693
02:55
(Laughter)
63
163689
1192
02:56
And he is my aunt's fifth great-aunt's husband's
64
164881
3625
03:00
father's wife's seventh great-nephew,
65
168506
3508
03:04
so practically my old brother.
66
172014
5065
03:09
And my cousin, of course,
67
177079
1523
03:10
the actor Kevin Bacon --
68
178602
1317
03:11
(Laughter) —
69
179919
1652
03:13
who is my first cousin's twice removed's
70
181571
2964
03:16
wife's niece's husband's first cousin once removed's
71
184535
2392
03:18
niece's husband.
72
186927
1210
03:20
So six degrees of Kevin Bacon,
73
188137
2135
03:22
plus or minus several degrees.
74
190272
4119
03:26
Now, I'm not boasting, because all of you
75
194391
2381
03:28
have famous people and historical figures
76
196772
2228
03:31
in your tree, because we are all connected,
77
199000
3667
03:34
and 75 million may seem like a lot,
78
202667
3163
03:37
but in a few years, it's quite likely
79
205830
2726
03:40
we will have a family tree
80
208556
1513
03:42
with all, almost all, seven billion people on Earth.
81
210069
4751
03:46
But does it really matter?
82
214820
1793
03:48
What's the importance?
83
216613
1342
03:49
And I do think it is important,
84
217955
1678
03:51
and I'll give you five reasons why, really quickly.
85
219633
2478
03:54
First, it's got scientific value.
86
222111
2820
03:56
This is an unprecedented history of the human race,
87
224931
3614
04:00
and it's giving us valuable data
88
228545
3431
04:03
about how diseases are inherited,
89
231976
2149
04:06
how people migrate,
90
234125
1868
04:07
and there's a team of scientists at MIT right now
91
235993
2920
04:10
studying the world family tree.
92
238913
2680
04:13
Number two, it brings history alive.
93
241593
2886
04:16
I found out I'm connected to Albert Einstein,
94
244479
3461
04:19
so I told my seven-year-old son that,
95
247940
2060
04:22
and he was totally engaged.
96
250000
2846
04:24
Now Albert Einstein is not some dead white guy
97
252846
3367
04:28
with weird hair.
98
256213
1210
04:29
He's Uncle Albert. (Laughter)
99
257423
4157
04:33
And my son wanted to know,
100
261580
1560
04:35
"What did he say? What is E = MC squared?"
101
263140
2157
04:37
Also, it's not all good news.
102
265297
2059
04:39
I found a link to Jeffrey Dahmer, the serial killer,
103
267356
3987
04:43
but I will say that's on my wife's side.
104
271343
2617
04:45
(Laughter) (Applause)
105
273960
2688
04:48
So I want to make that clear. Sorry, honey.
106
276648
2595
04:51
Number three, interconnectedness.
107
279243
2889
04:54
We all come from the same ancestor,
108
282132
3363
04:57
and you don't have to believe
the literal Bible version,
the literal Bible version,
109
285495
2568
05:00
but scientists talk about Y chromosomal Adam
110
288063
4088
05:04
and mitochondrial Eve,
111
292151
2853
05:07
and these were about 100,000 to 300,000 years ago.
112
295004
3316
05:10
We all have a bit of their DNA in us.
113
298320
3053
05:13
They are our great-great-great-great-great-great --
114
301373
2817
05:16
continue that for about 7,000 times --
115
304190
2740
05:18
grandparents,
116
306930
1815
05:20
and so that means we literally all are
117
308745
2646
05:23
biological cousins as well,
118
311391
2155
05:25
and estimates vary, but probably
119
313546
2556
05:28
the farthest cousin you have on Earth
120
316102
2702
05:30
is about a 50th cousin.
121
318804
2455
05:33
Now, it's not just ancestors we share, descendants.
122
321259
4181
05:37
If you have kids, and they have kids,
123
325440
2700
05:40
look how quickly the descendants accumulate.
124
328140
3465
05:43
So in 10, 12 generations,
125
331605
1693
05:45
you're going to have thousands of offspring,
126
333298
2131
05:47
and millions of offspring.
127
335429
1517
05:48
Number four, a kinder world.
128
336946
1989
05:50
Now, I know that there are family feuds.
129
338935
2489
05:53
I have three sons, so I see how they fight.
130
341424
2295
05:55
But I think that there's also a human bias
131
343719
2666
05:58
to treat your family a little better than strangers.
132
346385
2526
06:00
I think this tree is going to be bad news for bigots,
133
348911
3824
06:04
because they're going to have to realize
134
352735
3425
06:08
that they are cousins with thousands of people
135
356160
3610
06:11
in whatever ethnic group they happen
136
359770
1751
06:13
to have issues with,
137
361521
2262
06:15
and I think you look back at history,
138
363783
1885
06:17
and a lot of the terrible things
we've done to each other
we've done to each other
139
365668
3001
06:20
is because one group thinks
another group is sub-human,
another group is sub-human,
140
368669
2906
06:23
and you can't do that anymore.
141
371575
1465
06:25
We're not just part of the same species.
142
373040
1370
06:26
We're part of the same family.
143
374410
1767
06:28
We share 99.9 percent of our DNA.
144
376177
3636
06:31
Now the final one is number five,
145
379813
2301
06:34
a democratizing effect.
146
382114
1679
06:35
Some genealogy has an elitist strain,
147
383793
3457
06:39
like people say, "Oh, I'm descended
148
387250
1990
06:41
from Mary Queen of Scots
149
389240
1271
06:42
and you're not, so you cannot join my country club."
150
390511
3207
06:45
But that's really going to be hard to do now,
151
393718
2941
06:48
because everyone is related.
152
396659
1431
06:50
I'm descended from Mary Queen of Scots --
153
398090
2688
06:52
by marriage, but still.
154
400778
3353
06:56
So it's really a fascinating time
155
404131
3496
06:59
in the history of family,
156
407627
1556
07:01
because it's changing so fast.
157
409183
3507
07:04
There is gay marriage and sperm donors
158
412690
2575
07:07
and there's intermarriage
on an unprecedented scale,
on an unprecedented scale,
159
415265
4920
07:12
and this makes some of my
more conservative cousins
more conservative cousins
160
420185
2226
07:14
a little nervous,
161
422411
1609
07:16
but I actually think it's a good thing.
162
424020
1804
07:17
I think the more inclusive the idea of family is,
163
425824
3829
07:21
the better,
164
429653
1027
07:22
because then you have more potential caretakers,
165
430680
2104
07:24
and as my aunt's eighth cousin twice removed
166
432784
4315
07:29
Hillary Clinton says --
167
437099
2127
07:31
(Laughter) —
168
439226
1744
07:32
it takes a village.
169
440970
1329
07:34
So I have all these hundreds and thousands,
170
442299
5263
07:39
millions of new cousins.
171
447562
1118
07:40
I thought, what can I do with this information?
172
448680
2741
07:43
And that's when I decided,
173
451421
1856
07:45
why not throw a party?
174
453277
2239
07:47
So that's what I'm doing.
175
455516
2236
07:49
And you're all invited.
176
457752
2560
07:52
Next year, next summer,
177
460312
1898
07:54
I will be hosting what I hope is
178
462210
1931
07:56
the biggest and best family reunion in history.
179
464141
4478
08:00
(Applause)
180
468619
1032
08:01
Thank you. I want you there.
181
469651
2402
08:04
I want you there.
182
472053
1112
08:05
It's going to be at the New York Hall of Science,
183
473165
2474
08:07
which is a great venue,
184
475639
2282
08:09
but it's also on the site of the former World's Fair,
185
477921
3780
08:13
which is, I think, very appropriate,
186
481701
3645
08:17
because I see this as a family reunion
187
485346
2230
08:19
meets a world's fair.
188
487576
1418
08:20
There's going to be exhibits and food, music.
189
488994
2941
08:23
Paul McCartney is 11 steps away,
190
491935
2309
08:26
so I'm hoping he brings his guitar.
191
494244
3600
08:29
He hasn't RSVP'd yet, but fingers crossed.
192
497844
2735
08:32
And there is going to be a day of speakers,
193
500579
2391
08:34
of fascinating cousins.
194
502970
2001
08:36
It's early, but I've already,
195
504971
1182
08:38
I've got some lined up.
196
506153
1872
08:40
Cass Sunstein, my cousin who is perhaps
197
508025
2724
08:42
the most brilliant legal scholar, will be talking.
198
510749
2388
08:45
He was a former member
of the Obama administration.
of the Obama administration.
199
513137
3239
08:48
And on the other side of the political spectrum,
200
516376
2824
08:51
George H.W. Bush, number 41, the father,
201
519200
3132
08:54
he has agreed to participate,
202
522332
1855
08:56
and Nick Kroll, the comedian,
203
524187
2436
08:58
and Dr. Oz, and many more to come.
204
526623
3499
09:02
And, of course, the most important is that you,
205
530122
4398
09:06
I want you guys there,
206
534520
1946
09:08
and I invite you to go to GlobalFamilyReunion.org
207
536466
3435
09:11
and figure out how you're on the family tree,
208
539901
3095
09:14
because these are big issues, family and tribe,
209
542996
4193
09:19
and I don't know all the answers,
210
547189
2718
09:21
but I have a lot of smart relatives,
211
549907
2849
09:24
including you guys,
212
552756
1581
09:26
so together, I think we can figure it out.
213
554337
3267
09:29
Only together can we solve these big problems.
214
557604
2655
09:32
So from cousin to cousin,
215
560259
2030
09:34
I thank you. I can't wait to see you.
216
562289
2392
09:36
Goodbye.
217
564681
1901
09:38
(Applause)
218
566582
1938
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
AJ Jacobs - AuthorImmersing himself in alternate lifestyles and long, hilarious experiments (usually with himself the guinea pig), writer AJ Jacobs tests the limits of behavior, customs, culture, knowledge -- and his wife's sense of humor.
Why you should listen
AJ Jacobs' writings stand at the intersection of philosophy, Gonzo journalism and performance art. Stubbornly curious and slyly perceptive, he takes immersive learning to its irrational and profoundly amusing extreme -- extracting wisdom and meaning after long stints as a self-styled guinea pig. For his widely circulated Esquire article "My Outsourced Life," he explored the phenomenon of outsourcing by hiring a team in Bangalore to take care of every part of his life -- from reading his emails to arguing with his wife to reading bedtime stories to his own son. A previous article, "I Think You're Fat," chronicled a brief, cringe-inducing attempt to live his life in Radical Honesty, telling all the truth, all the time.
Jacobs is author of The Know-It-All, which documents the year he spent reading the Encyclopedia Britannica from A to Z, uncovering both funny and surprising factoids but also poignant insight into history and human nature. In 2007 he released The Year of Living Biblically, in which he attempted to follow every single rule in the Bible as literally as possible for an entire year. His recent book The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life as an Experiment is a collection of numerous personal experiments. including living according to George Washington's rules of conduct, outsourcing every single task to India, and posing as a woman on an online dating site.
AJ Jacobs | Speaker | TED.com