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Humans Born to Run
chia_monkey writes "This article in MSNBC says humans were born to run. From tendons and ligaments in the legs and feet that act like springs and skull features that help prevent overheating, to well-defined buttocks that stabilize the body, the human anatomy is shaped for running. The article also goes on to talk about our rumps: Big buttocks are also important. 'Have you ever looked at an ape? They have no buns,' said Bramble."
Big buttocks are also important.
I'll be damned.
As someone who has recently started running semi-regularly to get back in shape, I can tell you MY body isn't made for it.
That the chick pictured in TFA doesn't have a big butt?
(disclaimer: she's still cute, but that's funny)
Jay | http://oldos.org
Damnit, baby, we were born to run.
There are 01 types of people in this world. Those that understand binary, and me.
I'm willing to bet that most big buts reading /. aren't from running...
... well, at least in my case that is.
"When a ball dreams, it dreams it's a frisbee"
I read slashdot because I can see links to articles that appeared on the MSN homepage 2 days ago! With cutting edge reporting like this, why would anyone go anywhere else for news?
I've looked at apes before, but not like that.
Ew. Off to use some mental floss.
Those who complain about affect & effect on
This provides an interesting corallary to work done by Dr. Freddie Mercury and his colleagues many years ago on the relation between women with big buttocks and the rotation of the Earth.
GMD
watch this
I read slashdot because I can see links to articles that appeared on the MSN homepage 2 days ago! With cutting edge reporting like this, why would anyone go anywhere else for news?
I agree...you could find the news other places. But do you want to sort through all the crap to find the news that matters? It's all here! Yipee! Let the submitters do all the sorting and submitting so you only have to go to one site for the cool stuff.
"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lampposts...for support rather than illumination." - Andrew Lang
About human beings from New Jersey- does our lack of body hair also count (at least for those of use who are more fortuneate than I am- it's not thick but it's everywhere)? Seems like it would make us more streamlined.
SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
We ran to catch food or escape an enemy, but for thousands of years when we wanted to go someplace, we walked. We weren't the fastest or strongest - we couldn't outrun quadrupeds. But in addition to outthinking them, we could outwalk them. Conquerors may have ridden on horseback, but the ones who came on foot and brought their tools and families were the organizers of civilization. (somewhat paraphrased from The Magic of Walking, by Aaron Sussman and Ruth Goode)
Fuck Slashdot
If we were born to run, first why can't I run without hacking up a lung, and second why couldnt it be that we were born to smoke, then we would have stronger lungs and thus be able to hold bigger hits.
MonkeysKickAss
I dunno how you swing buddy, but no, no I haven't.
I guess the article means the big buttocks is relative to the rest of the body. If you look at sprinters, they tend to have more of a "bubble butt," but cross-country runners are generally classified as "flat-assed."
BTW, is this even news? I saw a person running yesterday, and he seemed to take to it pretty naturally, almost like he was born with the ability.
...a couple of days ago. It was a good piece - interesting stuff. Not sure how much of it made it into the article, but it was interesting how they compared humans to other animals explaning how humans are better suited to distance running. Other animals - dogs was an example I believe they used - are better suited for sprinting.
The science fiction writer David Brin wrote about these things years ago. First there was an "ANALOG" fact article (sorry don't recall which issue", and then there was one of his "Uplift War" books. Look up "cursorial hunting" sometime. No Wiki for it yet, apparently (but I bet there will be one shortly!). It means the prey is chased until it keels over from exhaustion first. Humans are the best cursorial hunters around, with possibly highest percentage of total body mass in their legs and leg muscles (including buttocks) of any land critter, ever.
This means that humans can run down prey. Chase an antelope, and it'll run a few hundred yards far faster than you can, then stop to rest. If you just keep dogtrotting after it, it'll do it again, and again. But after a couple miles, it'll be so tired that you can catch up with it and hit it over the head with a big stick.
This is called 'cursorial hunting'. Only wolves, hyenas, and humans can do this - chase after a quarry till it drops in its tracks.
Maybe then there could be a pill to cause this condition naturally. And one for breasts too!
I have also heard of an aboriginal Australian tribe that used to / still does? run down kangaroos.
Think about it. A bunch of marathon runners with spears jog after you all day. You are fit, but not trained for endurance running. Each time you stop for a break, they catch up to you relentlessly, dogging you. Only fear of death gives you the reserves to keep up your flight all day long, sprinting and then resting while they doggedly persue you. You are suprised your heart hasn't burst. Then it starts to get dark. You rest, and this time they don't persue you. They make camp. You fall fast asleep almost immediately grateful that your persuers have stopped chasing you. You wake up to the prod of a spear in your backside. OUCH! It's morning, and the people that chased you all day are upon you. Your instinct is to dart away, but you find that your every muscle has ceased to function. You feel like you must have rigormortis, and are completely unable to move as they tie you to a spit and plop you over their fire to cook.
Wouldn't a tail be much more effective than a gluteous maximus for maintaining balance while running? It works pretty well for cheetahs...
"Freedom means freedom for everybody" -- Dick Cheney
to tobacco, which should be outlawed instead of weed.
For me, the ideal when running is when I can get my body onto "auto-pilot" which leaves me with plenty of mental cycles to think. Often I listen to NPR otherwise it can get a bit monotonous (and for all the nike commericals you may have seen, listening to Nirvana for a four hour run gets real, old real quick). Though it's a rare occurance, listening to stories about running while running always makes me smile. In any case, I found it amusing that two of the lead scientists for this "discovery" are both long-distance runners as well. One said he wasn't biased but that he did do his best thinking while running. Not saying that it's not true (I can see many ways in which long distance running would be an evolutionary benefit, esspecially when it comes to getting to food), but it's easy to ascribe almost any attribute to an activity that modern humans do regularly. See that large bum is actually very beneficial for sitting. Those who didn't have a comfy reear would fidget a lot and would be noticed by bears and eaten first...that sort of thing.
Hasn't Bruce Springsteen been saying that for quite some time?
Why thank you. I didn't think anyone would notice.
I recently finished the Marine Corps Marathon, and I don't recall seeing any horses, wolves, or hyenas. Just out of curiosity, I searched for all of these (as last names), and although I didn't find any horses or hyeynas, it would appear that I ran with several wolves (or at least Wolfs). Of course, I think this has less to do with evolutionary pressure than fiduciary pressure. The entrance fee for the MCM (and most marathons) is fairly steep ($85).
Ben Hocking
Need a professional organizer?
hmmm.. that's actually less disturbing than another version I heard about ancient Greek man inventing lipsticks to paint their lips to resemble women's privates.
Actually, now I think about it, I am really not sure which one is more disturbing.
I know I like my girl's full lips because they look more kissable.
Big buttocks are also important. 'Have you ever looked at an ape? They have no buns
Makes me think of a song:
"We can feel like... sandwiches
You can be the bun,
I can be the burger."
And of course we were born to run. Look at all the things we have to run away from today:
I give massages and reiki treatments (for real!). More info here: http://www.universele-levensenergie.be
So does this mean JLO should be good at running? How about 90% of the /. readers?
eTrade SUCKS
...we weren't born to run but the gene survived because it had the features needed to run???
What is the english word that means that someone has a beautiful butt. Looking for the real definition, not some slang. :)
Non-Linux Penguins ?
..at the mall... I run and run, but she always catches me and hits me with a big stick.
"Look Lois, the two symbols of the Republican Party: an elephant, and a fat white guy who is threatened by change."
Another fun Desmond Morris factoid: human females have enlarged breasts to mimic the shape of their well-defined buttocks, so human-style face-to face is as exciting to males as mammal-default doggy-style.
Danke tres mucho, tovarishch.
I'd more likely point to our superb visual acuity, and our unparalleled dexterity and communication skills. It was these qualities, coupled to our endurance, that I would argue made our species successful enough to be able to afford to develop large brains.
In discussions like these I never see anyone mention human throwing ability. No other animal can throw as hard or as accurately as humans can. I would not be surprised if a large part of early human hunting consisted of throwing rocks at small animals.
TTFN
I found this description of the term cursorial hunting very interesting. I went and checked on Wikipedia and there was no article on the subject. So I have now created one. I welcome any slashdotters who would like to add to or edit this newly created article.
You are likely to be eaten by a Grue
karma capped
This year a man beat a horse in a marathon. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/mid/3801177.stm