User blog comment:Tbguy1992/My Theory/Opinion of Alternate History/@comment-3967693-20140520214429

I do see your point. The problem is, though, if you have a timeline, for example, where there is an alternate colonization of the Americas, the majority of these people could not possibly have been conceived, even if their parents would have loved one another in the right circumstances. In all likelihood, a majority of couples would have lived in different places with different societies and formed different families. Considering how many genetic variations exist within sex cells, we likely would more than likely see totally different people.

I don't know, I personally think it's fun to create biographies and personalities from scratch; obviously not every single one that existed but major players like monarchs, playwrights, politicians, actors, etc...