#1 in a series: Why do we fall? The real question is "How do we manage to remain upright?"

#1 in a series: Why do we fall? The real question is "How do we manage to remain upright?"

A very brief history of walking:

550 million years ago* the first animals crawl from the sea onto land. Going from crawling to walking, though, must have been one of evolution’s toughest challenges. 545 million years pass by before any attempt to move about on two legs occurs.

Another 4 - 5 million years elapse before Homo Erectus becomes the first fully bi-pedal species. (One could argue we learn quickly.)

So here’s the math. Walking upright on two legs has been around for less than 2 million of the past 550 million years. Or, to put it another way, if the entire history of life on land is compressed into one day, walking appears at 11:55pm.

Considering how recently we stopped crawling and started walking, the marvel of human ability is that we don’t fall more often.

Next up: The Segway vs. The Tricycle

* Dates are approximate

eylon _ ?? shine everyday ??

Parkinson Away?, Reverse the Parkinson's state swiftly and the entire PD condition slowly :)

9 年

I like the analogy, reminds me of Neil deGrasse Tyson's comparison to the cosmos "calendar" in respect of human beings.

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Richard Morton

Head of Accessibility, Government Digital Service

9 年

One of the reasons we remain upright is not that commonly known, the sense of proprioception which is the way we know where parts of our body are without having to look. Without that we couldn't remain upright for long.

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