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I first did 23andMe back in 2015. And at that time, my ancestry composition looked like this.
At the highest level, I was 50.6% East Asian & Native American and 49.2% European. Going one level deeper, I was 43.7% Chinese, 16.5% British & Irish, 6% French & German, and 11.5% Broadly Northern European. 23andMe uses the term "broadly" when there's a DNA match across multiple places and it's not exactly sure what country or countries it might be.
Last night, I decided to log back in to 23andMe and see if anything had changed in the 8 or so years since I first did the test and, frankly, since I logged into their website. And it turns out that it has. It seemingly got more precise. I guess that's the power of more people using the product and more data. Now my ancestry composition looks like this:
So what changed? Well, at a high level I'm still half Asian and half European. But 23andMe is now telling me that my Chinese roots likely trace back to Guangdong, a southern province that borders Hong Kong. This is news to me as I'm many generations removed and I had always thought it was somewhere more northern, partially because of my height.
Apparently, I am also no longer British & Irish (0.6%). I am now 31.1% French & German and 3.3% Broadly Northwestern European (admittedly this could include Ireland). This was surprising to me since Donnelly is clearly an Irish last name. Though, my maternal grandmother did indeed have direct French roots.
Along with this, I became more southern European (13%), with Spanish & Portuguese being the most common match (5.6%). So am I more this than Irish? I don't know, these matches are pretty far removed and possibly go back 5-8 generations. At the great-grandparent level, I am, according to 23andMe, (1) Chinese and (2) French & German.
I find all of this extremely fascinating and so I think I'll spend more time exploring the site and my family tree. They are also telling me that it's time to order another sampling kit, since I did mine so long ago. I plan on doing that, as well as ordering two for my parents. Let's see what that does to my ancestry composition.
Have any of you used 23andMe and found surprising results?
Below is an interesting example of how international migration – and being open to it – can have positive economic impacts by way of increased foreign direct investment (FDI). The excerpt is from the
People often ask me about “my background”. When I’m feeling cheeky, I usually just say that I’m Canadian or that I was born in Toronto (because that’s what I culturally self-identify with). But that’s not what most people want to hear.
The short answer I usually give is Eurasian (European + Asian) or Chirish (Chinese + Irish). Although I recently learned that Chirish means something else to people from Chicago.
But now, thanks to 23andMe’s DNA test, I can give a much more specific answer. Here’s the full chart:
I first did 23andMe back in 2015. And at that time, my ancestry composition looked like this.
At the highest level, I was 50.6% East Asian & Native American and 49.2% European. Going one level deeper, I was 43.7% Chinese, 16.5% British & Irish, 6% French & German, and 11.5% Broadly Northern European. 23andMe uses the term "broadly" when there's a DNA match across multiple places and it's not exactly sure what country or countries it might be.
Last night, I decided to log back in to 23andMe and see if anything had changed in the 8 or so years since I first did the test and, frankly, since I logged into their website. And it turns out that it has. It seemingly got more precise. I guess that's the power of more people using the product and more data. Now my ancestry composition looks like this:
So what changed? Well, at a high level I'm still half Asian and half European. But 23andMe is now telling me that my Chinese roots likely trace back to Guangdong, a southern province that borders Hong Kong. This is news to me as I'm many generations removed and I had always thought it was somewhere more northern, partially because of my height.
Apparently, I am also no longer British & Irish (0.6%). I am now 31.1% French & German and 3.3% Broadly Northwestern European (admittedly this could include Ireland). This was surprising to me since Donnelly is clearly an Irish last name. Though, my maternal grandmother did indeed have direct French roots.
Along with this, I became more southern European (13%), with Spanish & Portuguese being the most common match (5.6%). So am I more this than Irish? I don't know, these matches are pretty far removed and possibly go back 5-8 generations. At the great-grandparent level, I am, according to 23andMe, (1) Chinese and (2) French & German.
I find all of this extremely fascinating and so I think I'll spend more time exploring the site and my family tree. They are also telling me that it's time to order another sampling kit, since I did mine so long ago. I plan on doing that, as well as ordering two for my parents. Let's see what that does to my ancestry composition.
Have any of you used 23andMe and found surprising results?
Below is an interesting example of how international migration – and being open to it – can have positive economic impacts by way of increased foreign direct investment (FDI). The excerpt is from the
People often ask me about “my background”. When I’m feeling cheeky, I usually just say that I’m Canadian or that I was born in Toronto (because that’s what I culturally self-identify with). But that’s not what most people want to hear.
The short answer I usually give is Eurasian (European + Asian) or Chirish (Chinese + Irish). Although I recently learned that Chirish means something else to people from Chicago.
But now, thanks to 23andMe’s DNA test, I can give a much more specific answer. Here’s the full chart:
“…we document that FDI follows the paths of historical migrants as much as it follows differences in productivity, tax rates, education, and other conventional determinants of economic competitiveness – for the average US county, doubling the number of individuals with ancestry from a given origin country increases by 4 percentage points the probability that at least one firm from this US county engages in FDI with that origin country, and increases by 29% the number of local jobs at subsidiaries of firms headquartered in that origin country.”
Their study also found that these ties are long lasting. That is, even after a few generations of assimilation, ancestry still has an effect on FDI patterns.
There are of course many other benefits to open borders. But our collective tolerance toward immigration has ebbed and flowed greatly over time. And my sense is that if often has a relationship with prosperity.
As long as times are good and I – the incumbent – am winning, then immigration is accepted, if not welcome. But as soon as times become scarce, then I – the incumbent – need to start protecting my nest.
This may be one of the reasons why Canada seems to fair so well when it comes to diversity. We optimize for the middle more than countries like the US.
An example of this phenomenon can be found in the mid-19th century California Gold Rush. By 1876, the United States had approximately 151,000 people of Chinese ancestry and about 116,000 of them were in the state of California.
In the early days of the rush, when gold was abundant, it has been said that the foreign Chinese laborers were well received. But as gold became more scarce and difficult to find, Californians began to believe that the Chinaman was stealing their wealth.
In 1882, the US signed the Chinese Exclusion Act, which flat out prohibited the immigration of Chinese laborers. It was not repealed until 1943. However, the Chinese still found other creative ways to enter the country (see Lo Mein Loophole).
I say all this simply to provide a bit more context. We can talk about how disruptive technologies are squeezing the middle class in new and profound ways. But in many ways, we’ve all heard this story before.
Now I can say that I’m 50.6% East Asian & Native American and 49.2% European.
More specifically, I can say that I’m 43.7% Chinese, 2.0% Broadly East Asian, 2.1% Southeast Asian, 1.5% Native American, 1.4% Broadly East Asian and Native American, 16.5% British & Irish, 6.0% French & German, 11.5% Broadly Northern European, 1.7% Iberian, 1.7% Italian, 6.9% Broadly Southern European, 1.5% Eastern European, and 3.4% Broadly European.
But the interesting thing is that I don’t really feel any cultural affinity towards any of the regions or countries listed above (except for maybe France since I grew up going to a French school based off the French schooling system). For me, I identify as being Canadian. That’s more than enough for me.
Now it’s your turn.
What’s your “background” and how do you self-identify? I think this is an interesting discussion given that we are now an incredibly mobile world. What your DNA says and how you feel about yourself, could be two totally different things.
“…we document that FDI follows the paths of historical migrants as much as it follows differences in productivity, tax rates, education, and other conventional determinants of economic competitiveness – for the average US county, doubling the number of individuals with ancestry from a given origin country increases by 4 percentage points the probability that at least one firm from this US county engages in FDI with that origin country, and increases by 29% the number of local jobs at subsidiaries of firms headquartered in that origin country.”
Their study also found that these ties are long lasting. That is, even after a few generations of assimilation, ancestry still has an effect on FDI patterns.
There are of course many other benefits to open borders. But our collective tolerance toward immigration has ebbed and flowed greatly over time. And my sense is that if often has a relationship with prosperity.
As long as times are good and I – the incumbent – am winning, then immigration is accepted, if not welcome. But as soon as times become scarce, then I – the incumbent – need to start protecting my nest.
This may be one of the reasons why Canada seems to fair so well when it comes to diversity. We optimize for the middle more than countries like the US.
An example of this phenomenon can be found in the mid-19th century California Gold Rush. By 1876, the United States had approximately 151,000 people of Chinese ancestry and about 116,000 of them were in the state of California.
In the early days of the rush, when gold was abundant, it has been said that the foreign Chinese laborers were well received. But as gold became more scarce and difficult to find, Californians began to believe that the Chinaman was stealing their wealth.
In 1882, the US signed the Chinese Exclusion Act, which flat out prohibited the immigration of Chinese laborers. It was not repealed until 1943. However, the Chinese still found other creative ways to enter the country (see Lo Mein Loophole).
I say all this simply to provide a bit more context. We can talk about how disruptive technologies are squeezing the middle class in new and profound ways. But in many ways, we’ve all heard this story before.
Now I can say that I’m 50.6% East Asian & Native American and 49.2% European.
More specifically, I can say that I’m 43.7% Chinese, 2.0% Broadly East Asian, 2.1% Southeast Asian, 1.5% Native American, 1.4% Broadly East Asian and Native American, 16.5% British & Irish, 6.0% French & German, 11.5% Broadly Northern European, 1.7% Iberian, 1.7% Italian, 6.9% Broadly Southern European, 1.5% Eastern European, and 3.4% Broadly European.
But the interesting thing is that I don’t really feel any cultural affinity towards any of the regions or countries listed above (except for maybe France since I grew up going to a French school based off the French schooling system). For me, I identify as being Canadian. That’s more than enough for me.
Now it’s your turn.
What’s your “background” and how do you self-identify? I think this is an interesting discussion given that we are now an incredibly mobile world. What your DNA says and how you feel about yourself, could be two totally different things.
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