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Once a bloodline has no more children, its history is lost to the wind—extinct and likely forgotten.
(self.showerthoughts)
A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. A showerthought should offer a unique perspective on an ordinary part of life.
Bloodline doesn't have to end for that to happen. Even if you have kids, in three generations no one will remember your name or your life. Do you know the names and history of your great great grandparents? No one will remember us and it will not be important whether they do or don't.
This is very true, and also, the reverse is true as well: your bloodline can end yet you can still be remembered if you did something remarkable enough. I'm sure there are tons of well known figures in history whose bloodlines are no more today
One of the things I learned as a scientist is that for any major accomplishment, there are thousands of people who did difficult, necessary, and not-widely-recognized work to make that accomplishment possible.
My favorite example of this was just a few years ago, when the media all reported that a woman had found a black hole. The coverage was all about her and how surprising it was... she was on a team of 6. We all just decided, fuck the 5 other people on her team who all worked together on the project. She wasn't even a team lead or anything.