There are many different combinations of total cM and number of segments found for a given relationship, as shown in the scattergram from this blog post: http://blog.23andme.com/news/announcements/how-many-relatives-do-you-have/ The blobs overlap, so the colors aren't clear, but if you could plot those values on the scattergram, you'd probably find that the three-segment match fell closer to the higher relationship. It's very important to note that 23andMe predicts a range of relationships -- one might be classified as say a third to fifth cousin, and the other a third to six cousin. The total cM is the single best predictor, and it's the easiest to handle computationally. Ann Turner On Sat, Aug 26, 2017 at 12:06 AM, Eric S Johnson <[email protected]> wrote: > Does anyone have any idea what kind of a formula could be used to compare > the “likely closeness of the relationship (on average)” of two “DNA > cousins” who share a number of segments? > > > > 23andMe, for instance, ranks more highly someone who shares 40 cM in 3 HIRs > than someone else who shares 45 cM in 2 HIRs. > > > > Best, > > Eric > > <https://keyserver.pgp.com/vkd/DownloadKey.event?keyid=0xE0F58E0F1AF7E6F2 > > > OpenPGP: 0x1AF7E6F2 ● Skype: oneota ● XMPP/OTR: > <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected] ● Silent Circle: +1 > 312 614-0159 > > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without > the quotes in the subject and the body of the message >