Though I'm not convinced that an explanation for "normal people" should include the terms "absolute difference" and "minimum" :)
My explanation would be similar, and for mathematicians definitely use the 0'th cousins terminology, but to try to be clearer, be something like:
* If Joe and Sally are siblings, their children are first cousins * if Joe and Sally are n'th cousins, their children are n+1'th cousins * if Joe the First and Sally are n'th cousins, Joe The N+1 and Sally are first cousins N times removed.
I used to find it very confusing before anyone explained it to me, which took a long time, but it didn't seem especially complicated once someone HAD explained it.
Ah, I see. I don't know, I always remember that "first cousins" is the commonest and synonymous with normal cousins, and from there you can see which is which.
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andrewducker) wrote2010-01-05 11:02 am
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My explanation would be similar, and for mathematicians definitely use the 0'th cousins terminology, but to try to be clearer, be something like:
* If Joe and Sally are siblings, their children are first cousins
* if Joe and Sally are n'th cousins, their children are n+1'th cousins
* if Joe the First and Sally are n'th cousins, Joe The N+1 and Sally are first cousins N times removed.
I used to find it very confusing before anyone explained it to me, which took a long time, but it didn't seem especially complicated once someone HAD explained it.
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(It therefore seemed particularly silly to me that the explicitly worked example on that page was one in which M=N.)
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