Attention to DonnaML

[Didier Attaix]

Hi Donna,

Assuming I understood correctly you are originating from Freiburg in Bresgau in Germany. I was born in Renchen at 81 km of Freiburg. As you seem a compulsive collector of plenty of things (antiquities, coins, maps, etc.) as I do, there must be something common to both of us in this area!

All the very best,

Didier

[Mucius Scaevola]

Wouldn't a private message be the better way here?

[Salomons Cat]

24 minutes ago, Mucius Scaevola said:

Wouldn't a private message be the better way here?

If the goal is to gather as much scientific insight as possible, then I believe the following approach is worth considering.

Based on my understanding, the hypothesis suggests that specific genes, potentially originating from that region in Germany, may play a role. If I’m correct, there is interest in exploring this further. Therefore, I propose establishing a cohort of collectors from that region, conducting whole genome sequencing on all participants, and identifying candidate gene combinations during downstream analysis. 

However, this would be very costly and securing funding for this project would likely need to depend on private individuals…

I would also suggest changing the topic to ‘Is there a collecting gene?’ as, otherwise, @Mucius Scaevola is entirely correct that this discussion would be better suited for a private conversation.

Edited October 10, 2024 by Salomons Cat
In case you’re wondering: No, I don’t have too much time—I’m just procrastinating…

[Mucius Scaevola]

The "in this area" seems to point to collecting artifacts etc, not to conduct some sort of genome sequencing..

[Salomons Cat]

1 minute ago, Mucius Scaevola said:

The "in this area" seems to point to collecting artifacts etc, not to conduct some sort of genome sequencing..

Where, then, do you see a potential causal relationship between the region and collecting if it’s not genetic?

[Mucius Scaevola]

2 minutes ago, Salomons Cat said:

Where, then, do you see a potential causal relationship between the region and collecting if it’s not genetic?

Common interests, common dealers, common stories - pick whatever you like. I would usually ask if you have some form of neurodivergence, as I'm always very curios. And no, this is not meant in a bad way.

[Salomons Cat]

9 minutes ago, Mucius Scaevola said:

Common interests, common dealers, common stories - pick whatever you like. I would usually ask if you have some form of neurodivergence, as I'm always very curios. And no, this is not meant in a bad way.

No, I’m definitely not on the autism spectrum. And as far as I know, I don’t have any neurological or psychiatric conditions.

9 minutes ago, Mucius Scaevola said:

Common interests, common dealers, common stories - pick whatever you like. 

As far as I know, @DonnaML has never lived there and only has ancestors from that region—am I wrong? But let’s stop here before more people start diagnosing me. I meant this in a rather humorous way; I wouldn’t seriously start a scientific study on this.

Edited October 10, 2024 by Salomons Cat

[Mucius Scaevola]

Took me some time to get it, my bad.

[Salomons Cat]

19 minutes ago, Mucius Scaevola said:

Took me some time to get it, my bad.

No problem. It wasn’t that funny, and I just distracted myself from all the work I need to do.

[DonnaML]

@Didier Attaix, I just saw this. I'm not offended by your question, but I'm sure it's just a coincidence! Yes, my maternal grandmother's family -- 25% of my ancestors -- lived for at least 500 years in various places in the "Dreiländereck" region where Germany, France, and Switzerland meet, but my mother was born in Berlin and I was born right here in New York. Anyway, that region is known for wine and valleys and mountains and forests and rivers, but I never heard that people from there have a particular propensity for staying indoors and collecting things, whether coins or antiquities or old maps! Besides, the only other collector in my family was my father, who collected stamps as a child, and his family was from Eastern Europe.

More seriously, even if one just limits the discussion to Europe, and to collecting ancient coins, are there really any European countries where that kind of collecting is more popular, or less popular, than in others? Despite the natural bias in this forum in favor of English speakers, it seems to me in general that there are a lot of people interested in ancient numismatics in every European country, including many that were once part of the Greco-Roman world, but also those that weren't. So I doubt that putting a pin in a map for every collector in Europe would reveal any unusual clusters in Southwest Germany! If there are more people in this forum from German-speaking lands than from, say, France or Italy or Spain, could that simply be because Germans are more likely to be fluent in English?

[Didier Attaix]

Hi Donna,

I fully agree with you, it's probably just coincidental. My father was born in Auvergne and my mother in Lorraine, near the German border. They were not collectors, and my grand parents also. In addition, I do have a MSc in Genetics and never heard of any collector gene!

All the best,

Didier

[Rand]

46 minutes ago, Didier Attaix said:

Genetics and never heard of any collector gene!

Has this been explored? Could be a knowledge gap for funding application. Could be impactul and add to the neurodiversity trends.

But no attempts to cure it, please 🙂 

[shanxi]

1 hour ago, Didier Attaix said:

and never heard of any collector gene!

Of course there is a collector gen. Our ancestors were hunters and collectors. Back then, collecting was for essentials, mainly food, today when we get all from the supermarket the collectors gene seeks out other areas, e.g. coins, vintage cars or Likes. Coin collecting serves both: hunting and collecting.

[Rand]

1 hour ago, shanxi said:

Our ancestors were hunters and collectors

I suppose the 'collector gene' refers to the obsessive collecting of something useless in daily life.

Like a caveperson passionately collecting butterflies despite their cavespouse threatening them with eviction and putting restrictions on the consumption of fermented grape juice.

[Sulla80]

On 10/11/2024 at 1:07 AM, DonnaML said:

it seems to me in general that there are a lot of people interested in ancient numismatics in every European country

I can confirm this with data from sullacoins.com - perhaps being in the northeast of the US also creates some pull into coin collecting.

[DonnaML]

18 hours ago, Sulla80 said:

I can confirm this with data from sullacoins.com - perhaps being in the northeast of the US also creates some pull into coin collecting.

What does this map show? Is it visitors to your website? If so, I wonder what a similar map for Numisforums would show.

[Sulla80]

7 hours ago, DonnaML said:

What does this map show? Is it visitors to your website? If so, I wonder what a similar map for Numisforums would show.

yes - here is Europe which confirms your expectation

Edited October 17, 2024 by Sulla80