Seeing Double

Not, as you might expect, the relating of my last couple of times out in Charleston (as if I'd get THAT drunk!) but something altogether different. Many of you may have heard of the myth of the Doppelganger. Meaning "double walker" a doppelganger is a shadow-self that accompanies every human. Only the owner of a doppelganger can see it, otherwise it is invisible although dogs and cats have been known to see them. A doppelganger almost always stands behind a person, casting no reflection in a mirror. Prepared to listen and give advice to humans, they can implant ideas in their heads and it's said to be bad luck if it is seen. However, doppelgangers can be mischievous and malicious. More recently, the term has become synonymous with people who can 'double' for others. Now, this may sound far-fetched but consider the fact that a number of famous people have utilised doubles at some point - perhaps the most famous being Field Marshal Montgomery (there is, I believe, a film about the man - called "My Life As Monty"). What, you may ask, has this all to do with Charleston, America and Science?

Well, it seems that a large number of doubles are living here - at least ones to people I know. Since arriving some four and a half months ago (seems like yesterday), I have seen a considerable number of people who look uncannily like friends of mine from Manchester, Liverpool, College and Home. These have appeared in coffee shops, restaurants, book stores. Hell, even when i was at the hairdressers. Now maybe it's just me, and maybe i'm going crazy (hey, you have to be crazy to be a scientist - apparently it's compulsory!). Or from a scientific point of view, maybe there is some limits to genetic variation such that two completely unrelated people can bear striking resemblances to each other. I'm not a mathmetician (any more) so i can't really calculate the odds of that. On the other side of the coin, it could just be that i'm missing everyone and am waiting for them to start visiting. See the subtle hint there?