The only way to benchmark it that I can think of is to correlate it with the fossil record. We have the experimental information from the mitochondrial "eve" and the y-gene "adam" and the earliest known modern humans (
160,000 years old Ethiopian skulls) and I believe both genetic data point closer to 200,000 years -- close but not on target, on the right side of the target ...
This needs to be done for as many instances as can be found. That can then give you a plot of predicted vs actual age on a graph and see if it correlates good enough to use.
Find the correlation before making too many predictions.
The assumption that the rate is steady-state is just that, an assumption. The concept that genetic trees can be built from the age data so derived is a theory that needs to be validated, imho.
I suspect the line will vary from a 45 straight line.
we are limited in our ability to understand
by our ability to understand
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