Assuming equal probability, theoretically it is possible to divide world population into 8 distinct ERVs grouping. Everyone within the same group have exactly the same ERVs, like so:
Group 1: lack of 'a,b,c' ERVs
Group 2: a
Group 3: a b
Group 4: a b c
Group 5: a c
Group 6: b
Group 7: b c
Group 8: c
Would apes population be similar? (Bluescat48 would think so,
won't he?)
You have the situation completely wrong. What provides the proof of common ancestry are the ERVs that are in fact fixed in the populations.
Try this analogy instead for ERVs a, b, c, for a very linear simplification of evolution.
Monkeys: a, ...(other monkey only ERVs)
Gorillas: a, b, ...(other gorilla only ERVs)
Chimps: a, b, c, ...(other chimp only ERVs)
Humans: a, b, c, ... (other human only ERVs)
The result of comparing the similarities would create a nested heirarchy which is not something that you would expect unless the ERVs were the result of heredity.
Change a, b, and c from representing a single ERV to an entire class of ERVs that those species share and suddenly the evidence is overwhelming in favor of common ancestry.
If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be. --Thomas Jefferson
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