I’m not one who believes in doppelgängers. The idea that there is another person just like me somewhere else in the universe is absurd at many levels. From a scientific perspective, the amount of genetic diversity in the human population makes it nearly impossible that someone would share enough of my genetic information to be my double. Which assumes, of course, that having duplicate genomes would mean complete copying of all the phenotypes that make me, well, me. And this assumption is already known to be false, as even identical twins who share all their genetic information aren’t doppelgängers—it is easy to see any pair of monozygotic twins are not truly identical.
As for me, I think it is safe to say that there are other, less scientific reasons, to discount this possibility. Let’s be honest: Isn’t is obvious that it would be difficult for the world at large to tolerate having more than one me? I think it is safe to say that I have enough “personality” to spare, perhaps enough to obviate the need for a doppelgänger. I would argue, in fact, my personality could support a number of these critters, perhaps as many as three, a Dreiergruppegänger if you will.
So imagine my surprise when one of my wife’s colleagues bought in the label from some coconut macaroons that he had purchased. These are Jennies® macaroons, whose major claim to fame is that they are free of lactose, trans fat, sulfite, soy, wheat, gluten, dairy, and yeast (which begs the question as to what’s left). Apparently, the photo of the namesake of the company, Arnold Jennie, made him think of me. At first, I didn’t quite see the resemblance, but after showing the picture to a number of people, with each person exclaiming “Oh my god, its you!’, I am thinking that perhaps there is a little resemblance.
You be the judge:
