[Avodah] Mitochondrial DNA and the Mabul

[Zev Sero]

This is a problem not just for the mabul but also for creation.  And
it's not just mitochondrial DNA, but all DNA.  If we assume a steady
rate of mutation, then it's impossible to for the diversity we observe
in humanity -- and the diversity that Chazal observed 2000 years ago,
e.g. the story of the man who tried Hillel's patience -- to have arisen
from a single pair of ancestors in a mere 6000 years (creation to us),
let alone a mere 2500 years (Noach to Hillel).

The only answer I can think of is that the rate of mutation has not
been steady, and the generations from Noach to Avraham experienced a
high rate of mutation, perhaps due to cosmic ray bombardment during
the mabul.


-- 
Zev Sero        "Natural resources are not finite in any meaningful
zev at sero.name    economic sense, mind-boggling though this assertion
                  may be. The stocks of them are not fixed but rather
		 are expanding through human ingenuity."
		                            - Julian Simon