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Walk or Run: Are We Built To Be Lazy?
sciencehabit writes "A quick visit to Monty Python's Ministry of Silly Walks shows just how many ways humans (or at least British comedians) can think of to travel from point A to point B. So why don't we high kick our way to the bus stop or skip to the grocery store? New research suggests that there may be a deep biomechanical reason governing the gaits we choose in different situations. In short, people consistently choose to walk when they need to travel slower than 2 m/s to reach their goal in the given time; when they needed to move about 3 m/s or faster, they ran. But in between—in 'the twilight zone between walking and running'—people tended to mix the two gaits, minimizing their energy expenditure. The findings could help scientists design better prosthetic limbs and even build more human-like robots"
It is tempting to say we're built to be lazy. Just look at all the slothful people. On the other hand, being able and willing to NOT be lazy when the time comes has a distinct evolutionary advantage, just as saving energy when one needs to does. I supposed we're meant to be a blend.
It's not called being lazy. It's called SURVIVING on LIMITED RESOURCES, which is what Humans had to do for hundreds of thousands of years before developing the technology to increase food availability.
Expending the least amount of energy was called SURVIVAL.
We really have completely lost touch with reality, haven't we? We are living in the idiocracy.
Consider our ancestors. Would it be a good idea to always rush from point A to point B, risking near constant exhaustion? Predators would find us an easy kill at that point.
I'd argue that this conservative behavior is evolutionarily driven.
So when people need to run, they run, but if they don't need to run, they don't? Is that really all this is saying? I sure hope there is some more technical benefit to the field of prostheses or this study was probably a waste of money.
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If you get in shape, you become more prone to bouncing around and spending more energy. The better you are in shape, the more you'd prefer to run than walk. Problem is, if you're booking it everywhere you go, you turn everyone's heads and they glare at you. I think it has something to do with the social idea,"If that guy is running, maybe he just did something wrong, aka a thief." Or maybe it is just jealousy. Seriously, go around running everywhere you go, and you'll get lots of upset people looking at you. I just got tired of it and forced myself to slow down to a walk so everyone didn't glare at me any more.
Sure, if you run on accepted running paths, it is no big deal. But go running around stores, or running down campus, or running on sidewalks, and the glares will make you wonder if it is socially acceptable to run everywhere you go.
God spoke to me
I'd like to obtain a government grant to help me develop it.
Oh, yeah, it's not easy to pad these out to 120 characters.
My "time to move fast" prothesis accomodates 7 humans comfortably and has a 150 hp engine and goes 180 kph
... Scientists discovered jogging?
...you cycle.
I'm driving or flying there. Fuck using my feet.
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I used to work in an office with an extremely athletic lady. She used to run (actually more of a jog) down the aisles between cubicles. Not bad looking either.
One day, my boss was standing in the doorway, talking with me when she ran by. He gave her sort of an odd look. When he turned back to speak with me, I said, "If I were her, I'd run by this cubicle as well."
He was laughing so hard, it was pretty much the end of our conversation.
Have gnu, will travel.
NOW there is an automated paydays ad on the bottom. what is happening to /.?
After WWII ended, German POWs in the gulags of the Soviet Union adopted a particular method of movement known as the "plenny-step". This was designed by the prisoners to conserve energy when the Communists provided a starvation diet. Not much is known of the exact method used, other than it "turned the camp inhabitants into a mass of bent, crawling figures". You have to realize that the human body (and all animals) do a really good job with optimizing energy output for work achieved.
Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
At least in Skyrim. But I play that a lot, so I think it counts.
... like Forrest Gump? There are short term problems like perspiration to deal with unless you and those around you don't mind you smelling gamey.
Then there are long term issues like joint wear. I used to enjoy running but my knees wore out and knee replacement really doesn't fix that.
Wansu, th' chinese sailor
I think part of it is that we try to distribute our muscle use. We first use our walking muscles, after a while their energy runs a little low so we switch over to jogging which uses different muscles. By the time their energy runs low our walking muscles have recovered a little bit so we switch back. It's the same reason why, when lifting weights, you plan your workout, or workouts in general are planned.
No we aren't built to be lazy. If you're reading this and you think you're lazy...wake up! +we are not meant or built to be lazy+ That does not mean we have to work for peanuts either. "Just because you're assigned the job of swabbing the deck doesn't mean you have to be the best deck swabber unless you happen to like that work." That's what my Dad taught me. And if you like swabbing decks, more power to you in all honesty.
Skipping is actually a quite efficient and speedy way to cover ground. You do feel a little silly doing it as an adult male though :D
So the best average speed for weightloss purposes is to jog between 7.2 and 10.8 km/h ?
Not Lazy but Efficient and Adaptable. Most lifeforms adapted to a specific environment we as humans adapted to change.
When we aren't in a hurry, we walk. When we are in a hurry, we run. When we are only somewhat in a hurry, we speedwalk/semirun.
How the fuck does this qualify in anyway as news? SMH.
I prefer the 'Policeman' walk - gait or whatever. It's a one leg leap forward with a pointed foot. Gracefull but silly.
Don't be apathetic. Procrastinate!
Growing up in South Africa, I remember quite a few stories involving the Bushmen (more PC these days is the term San people). These people traditionally lived in desert or semi-desert regions, living mainly off hunting (bow) and gathering. Since their bows where not very strong, the tactic was to poison the arrow tip, then chase the shot animal on foot until it succumbed to the poison. Another important factor in their survival was water conservation, as it obviously is a scarce commodity in those areas. I guess it needs to be pointed out that food (animals) is also a scarce commodity, requiring energy conservation, and in fact giving rise to some hereditary traits to help in that (Steatopygia).
They were legendary for having a run that employed a energy (and water) conserving gait that enabled them to run for days on end. Obviously not a sprint, but much faster than walking. I remebered once seeing a documentary on TV that showed this run: feet lifted to a minimum, and also very little movement of other limbs. Obviously just the minimum of movement to get the job done, although I guess it would take some training to get used to that if one has never done it.
They are considered an "ancestral population" of humans and as such are distinct from what is usually considered as "an African" (i.e. a black person).
Walk or run? Easy, Walk, Don't Run.
Given the obesity problem, skipping to the grocery store or doing a goose step to the bus stop is probably a good idea as no doubt it expends more energy and uses more muscles than just slowly plodding along.
Doesn't seem like a good idea though. I'm all for doing your own thing and not worrying TOO much about what society considers "normal" (like I'm sure goes for most of Slashdot's readership) but I think you'd pretty soon be known as "that idiot who goose steps to the bus stop"
Motorized Feet, or How I Learned to Stop being Lazy and Love Exercise.
I read an interesting paper in Nature magazine back when I was a student about how different gaits of different animals gave different efficiencies at different speeds. The odd one was the Kangaroo, which has a pentapedal gait at slow speed (walks on the 2 big feet, then the two small front feet and the tail for each step) changing to a bounce at high speed. Which makes it a very efficient long distance cruiser.
The paper also looked at human and other animals.
I can't be sure of the exact date, but I ceased to be a student in 1979.
Geez, RTFM y'all
No, we are built to cover as much ground as possible while expending as little energy as possibly. That's not lazy, that's a good survival strategy.
"MIT betrayed all of its basic principles."
People don't run because..
-It makes them sweat
-They may tire out faster if they run making it longer to reach the said destination
-They might be carrying something that makes it hard to rime
-Time is not of the essence
-Bad knees
-Out of shape or obese
-"makes me look stupid"
did you forget to take your meds?
2 miles per second???? Wow, the Brits need to slow down!
Efficiency == Lazy. Got it.
Or maybe, this article is a load of effing crap. You decide. Don't be lazy. I'm just being efficient.
Hard work may pay off in the future, but laziness pays off now.
We are so used to humans being not very strong physically, we forget that we are actually the best, bar none at some things.
What humans are crazy good at is best speed over time. Many animals are faster than us in the short run, but few or none can outdistance us over time. We are the tortoise to most animals hare.
So if you can track an animal and are determined to walk it down, it really can't keep away from a human. So once you are smart enough to track something out of site, the animals odds of getting away become slim. And what is one skill EVERY primative culture has? Tracking.
I for one couldn't possibly give a good goddamn unless TFA has somethign to do with putting some motherfucking lasers on some motherfucking sharks!
--Samuel L. Jackson