Doppelgängers Have More than Their Looks in Common
Research shows their similarities are more than skin deep
Hiya!
Unless you’re born as an identical twin, the odds are slim you’ll ever meet anyone who shares your face — slim, but not impossible. There is a chance someone who isn’t related to you but looks just like you is walking around somewhere right now as you’re reading this.
The concept of doppelgängers is fun because it has a mythical history but a scientific future. We’ve come up with all sorts of stories about doppelgängers since their existence became a thing in the late 1800s, including representing death or evil. But now science indicates while not malicious, real-life doppelgängers do appear to share more than just their looks.
Dopplegängers
The term doppelgänger can be traced back to German folklore and translates as “Double Goer.” The idea behind it was that all living beings have a spirit double — distinct from a ghost, which appears after death — that is supposedly their opposite, or evil twin of sorts. Worse yet, coming face to face with your doppelgänger was a sure sign of death. So it’s no surprise that in the 1800s, the idea essentially became a subgenre for horror stories.
Though these days, the idea is less scary and more intriguing. Who hasn’t wondered whether someone out there right now looks identical to them? We’re so fascinated by the concept that we’ve created a wide variety of fictional literature, video games, television, and more, all inspired by the concept of doppelgängers.
I think a big reason for its popularity is because, as I mentioned before, doppelgängers are more than just folklore. Unlike vampires or werewolves, the line between fantasy and reality blurs when it comes to doppelgängers. They’re very real, and we can’t get enough of them.
Just ask Canadian photographer François Brunelle, whose traveled the world photographing doppelgängers since 1999.
New Research
A new study published in the journal Cell Reports analyzed 32 pairs of Brunelle’s models and found that doppelgängers are more than just superficially identical— they also share similar lifestyle habits and even some genes.
The researchers asked the pairs to complete questionnaires about their lifestyles and provide saliva DNA samples. Then, they used facial recognition software to analyze the headshots of the participants and provide a “score” that represented similarities in the faces.
Then they compared this score with those of actual identical twins and discovered that exactly half (16) of the doppelgängers pairs scored the same as genetically identical twins.
Next, the scientists compared the participants’ DNA samples and found that 9 of the 16 ( half again) shared similar genetic variations. Specifically, they identified 19,277 common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP), which are variations within a single base pair in a DNA sequence. The study refers to these nine Doppel-pairs as “ultra look-alikes.”
But that’s not all!
Not only did these doppelgängers have similar SNPs and facial features, but their personality traits and habits were more likely to align than non-Doppel duos, including things like smoking history, education levels, and weight.
There is one area, though, that the look-alikes differed — their microbiomes. We all have communities of microbes like bacteria living on, and within us. Our gut microbiome is crucial and is often referred to as our second brain. Considering that doppelgängers had “very different” gut microbes but similar genetic SNPs, an article by the Smithsonian points out that:
From a nature vs. nurture perspective, this suggests that it’s DNA, not environmental factors or shared life experiences, that is primarily responsible for how similar doppelgängers look.
In other words, DNA appears to affect our appearances more than our shared life experiences or surrounding environment does. So in a way, how we look is just the luck of the draw. After all, we’re about to hit 8 billion people by Novemeber 2022 — plus who knows how many billions (trillions?) of people have already existed — and we all need faces.
And considering there are only so many combinations to build a face, the system is bound to repeat itself. The question then becomes, what are the odds of having a doppelgänger in real life? Well, according to Ph.D. student Teghan Lucas from the University of Adelaide School of Medicine, about one in a trillion.
Perspective Shift
I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it before, but my older brothers are identical twins. So, I literally grew up in a house with two people who essentially share a face — and yes, I can and have always been able to tell them apart — but the idea of two strangers looking as identical as my brothers do is pretty wild.
What astounds me even more about this new research is just how similar doppelgangers are. They’re more than just a pair of identical faces. But their very genetics — something created by two sets of genetically diverse parents — are also similar.
If there are a finite number of faces available and our appearances come down to random luck, then it reminds me of the saying, “You aren’t a body with a soul, but a soul with a body.”
Just as a reminder, you’re currently reading my free newsletter Curious Adventure. If you’re itching for more, you’ll probably enjoy my other newsletter, Curious Life, which you’ve already received sneak peeks of on Monday mornings.
Any payments go toward helping me pay my bills so I can continue doing what I love — ethically following my curiosities and sharing what I learn with you.
You can find more of my writing on Medium. If you’re not a member but want to be, click here to sign up! Doing so allows you to read mine and thousands of other indie writers to your heart’s content.
Lastly, if you enjoy my work and want to show me support, you can donate to my Ko-fi page, where you can also commission me to investigate a curiosity of your own! Thank you for reading. I appreciate you.
