The answer is that you can't be too sure. You're certainly "at higher risk" because your dad is bald, but it's far from guaranteed.
It used to be thought that male pattern baldness was inherited mostly from the female side. So to find out if you were likely to be bald, you should look at your mother's father and brothers. But most of this was based on ancient research (done in 1916).
More recent and better understanding of genetics has made it clear that the genetics of balding are much more complicated than that. What you want to do instead is look at all your close male relatives (on your dad's side, too) and see how they're getting on. At the same time, it does seem like male baldness is linked more strongly to the X chromosone (and a man only inherits one of those, and only from his mother). So taking a close look at the men in your mother's family may be a cause for joy or dismay, after all.
It used to be thought that male pattern baldness was inherited mostly from the female side. So to find out if you were likely to be bald, you should look at your mother's father and brothers. But most of this was based on ancient research (done in 1916).
More recent and better understanding of genetics has made it clear that the genetics of balding are much more complicated than that. What you want to do instead is look at all your close male relatives (on your dad's side, too) and see how they're getting on. At the same time, it does seem like male baldness is linked more strongly to the X chromosone (and a man only inherits one of those, and only from his mother). So taking a close look at the men in your mother's family may be a cause for joy or dismay, after all.
