Does Mendelian genetics explain the wars of Westeros and dragons?
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  1. I watched all of your genetic videos, and there's one tiny problem with your reasoning IMO. I know these videos are old, but anyway…

    The chromosome X that females carry on to their descendants is always the matrilineal X. Even if a female got a magical dragon chromosome X from her paternal ancestor, she wouldn't be carrying it on to her children. If the matrilineal X is magical, the children will inherit it. If the magical X is patrilineal, the children will have it, but they won't carry it on to their children. It comes down to the mtDNA that gets passed on from mother to daughter.

    Bran Vras wrote really good essays on the importance of matrilineality in ASOIAF. He talks about Sansa's matrilineal claim to Harrenhal (her being the descendant of Mad Danelle Lothston and so forth), and he also talks about Lyanna's warging genes that she has inherited from the matrilineal line before her.

  2. this makes me ask if the maesters and septons and faith and such have advanced scientific knowledge the rest of the world doesn't and if the dragons are artificial beasts so to speak since they can't hatch naturally the way other animals can. and i wonder why the girls wouldn't take their dragons with them and who hatched cannibal and why he wasn't used to people since he would have bonded with his hatcher

  8. im curious, do you think the targs have a blended conscious with dragons. targs are valyrian, genetically better people who controlled a slave race. i think of all the 1000 world stories. if they are genetically superior and the last people left with the ability to connect with these dragons, maybe they dont "Warg" but instead are always connected and that is why drogon comes when dany feels trouble. i feel as if the whole asoiaf fits into his 1000 worlds, as is he packaged all his idea into one. others be "others, the unknown the different" corpse collectors, reanimating bodies with their mind. children of the forest (7x never killman) pyramids sending dreams. genetically superior beins (valyrians) controling slave race of lesser men. eggs come from the sky that hatch flying beasts that breath fire. feels like a bio organic weapon. only these genetic superior people who are way more advanced then average men can control them or seem to understand how they work. meathouse man being every living thing has a soul/consciousness to them/it and they blend together (in the show, bran is losing more and more of what makes him who he is the more he learns/remembers) and whether youre alive or dead this consciousness is there (some have more control over it and can control it a.k.a. warg) but over all, once you die in life, your consciousness go into the planet/weirwood net and your memories become part of it but as that happens your "self" is lost and you become part of the whole or a small percentage of the blended consciousness. so like bran becomming like summer and vice versa until bran would eventually forget what it means to be human the same goes for you consciousness when you die. the only difference being bran is a warg and can control his consciousness on some level but even he can lose himself by spending too long in someone elses body because he could lose some of his consciousness control by losing part of his mind to summers consciousness

    theres a lot in there but hope you get a chance to read it and let me know if you agree with any of it. i dont think asoiaf is in a 1000's worlds but i think its more sci fi the fantasy and theres answer even vague one to what is going on "its just magic" isnt a George r. r. martinthing to do

  9. Rhaenys rode Meraxes. Visenya rode Vhagar. Not the other way around. That means Meraxes could have been hatched by Rhaenys, which means she might have been a dragon hatcher, which means she might have also hatched Quicksilver.

  12. So I have decided to rewatch this short series to refresh myself on the details, and just had a thought regarding Rodrick/Aemma Arryn. You suggest at some point that they might be able to use other "magic" genes to suppliment the dragon gene, (Such as your theory that Danaerys is Rhaegar's daughter, Danni inherits dragon X from rhaegar and warging X from Lyanna) and you've also done videos about that magic of the arryn family.

    So do you think it's possible that Rhaenyra has one dragon X and one "arryn" X (for want o a better term) to make up the dragon riding? Maybe that contributed to Rhaegar realising he could substitute in other genes.

  17. The books The Rouge Prince and The Princess and the Queen throw a wrench in your theory. Rheanyra's three sons were almost certainly bastards with a Strong for a father and all three had Dragons eggs places in their cribs all of Wich hatched. They couldn't have the XX gene.

  19. I finally understand why GRR takes so long for every book…he's writing a book for the ages! You could spend months trying to unravel all the aspects of WOIAF and still not come up with half the ideas you have OP. GRR isn't just writing a story he's weaving an entire world.

  20. Wait, if dragon hatching is exclusive to females with two Dragon X chromosomes, why put eggs in males' cradles at all? Why not put all their eggs in a single basket with someone they know to be able to hatch them? Is there any evidence that there is a limit to how many eggs can be hatched by a single Valyrian? If there was, wouldn't Dany hatching 3 eggs simultaneously blow that notion out of the water? Even if one were to assume that it had to do with the pyre, ritual and sacrifice, only Rhaego's sacrifice would bear any fruit, as Mirri and Drogo definitely do not have any Dragon X chromosomes.

    And if we can learn anything from Dany, it's that there is no requirement of infancy or cradles connected to hatching dragons. All that is required, it seems, is close proximity to an individual with two Dragon X chromosomes. So simply carrying around a bunch of eggs should, theoretically, result in a large clutch of dragons.

    Honestly, this leads me to believe that there is either more to hatching dragons than simply having the necessary genes, or the Targaryens were completely incapable of recognizing cause and effect.

  22. One thing I've always wondered is where the dragon eggs come from? I assume they come from the existing dragons at the time, however are dragons a-sexual and all have the ability to lay eggs??….Also are the dragons laying eggs related to anything their riders do – are they influenced into laying eggs or is it random?

  26. This video series is so great, so well thought out, and easy to follow and just great great great, I watched this video a while ago, but I didn't see this was only the first in a series, I had to find this video again though because it's just that good and nice to reflect on before season 7 comes out, especially since there's new rumors of a TWOW release date to be coming in spring too, thanks for taking the time and dedication to make these videos, seriously SO GOOD!!!! You're the only person I've seen so far to go into this much research and detail about the genetics of dragon hatching/riding, every true ASoIAF fan should see these.

  29. Your five part video explanation of the genetics of birthing dragons and being able to ride dragons, I believe, is spot on! I know a lot of people say magic just left the world and came back, but I believe in science and magic in ASOIAF. Your research and understanding of the Targaryan family blood line is very impressive! Thank you! I would love to see more videos like these! Your sense of humor shines through with the Rogue Prince's theme music. Great job!

  32. If it is true that the ability to ride dragons is a gene ( a gene of the X chromosome ). Than by now, since the first targaryen bastards, many people in westeros would have this gene.

  33. Preston, I love this theory. It makes a lot of sense. The only thing I disagree with is Rhaenys not being a Dragon hatcher. I think she was the one that hatched Quicksilver for her sickly son.

  35. This is all very interesting, but how do the maesters know who has how many dragon x genes? You act under the assumption that the maesters are very aware of the whole genetic situation, but the Targaryens, who are the ones who should be more knowledgeable on the subject, are not?

  38. This guy is full of nonsense. He's pretending to talk science, yet adds is so many assumptions that a religious person could tell it wasn't science. He also says all this while forgetting a simple point. Magic is real. In GoT anyway. This whole thing is a giant ball of assumptions that have no basis, and ignores the entire magical part of the story.

    The dragons were born on the sacrificial fires of Drogo's pyre. He was alive, but mentally gone. Life for life. Ancient type magic. Powerful stuff.

  41. why can some people ride dragons, while others are just eaten by them…tricky…more than luck and magic play a role no doubt whereas plot convenience would be a overly simplistic and cynical choice…no, there is a narrative logic to this, many layers that peel away only when the right questions are asked…and some answers are only part of the whole question yet asked…there's a good chance that Sam will find some of the answers along with an illustration of Dragon Binder which will be very useful…while i doubt the horn that he found with the dragonglass would be that one in particular, it might have properties that could lead to its eventual finding

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