barehl
Master Poster
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- Jul 8, 2013
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I got tired of seeing fake science and convoluted logic in the PG thread. So, I have a reply.
Homo sapiens is the only mammal on planet Earth that habitually and efficiently walks upright. Humans can run marathons and walk for thousands of miles as they routinely do on the Appalachian, Pacific Crest, and Continental Divide trails every year. Humans do walk in the most efficient way possible as you would expect after 3 million years of evolution. Some other primates can walk short distances upright. However, because their hips are designed for things like climbing trees and knuckle walking, they can't fully straighten their legs and therefore walk compliantly. The only other primate that can stand upright is the orangutan but even they cannot walk efficiently.
When people scrutinized the PG film, they noticed that sometimes the Pattysuit figure has bent knees. Walking with bent knees is a common side-effect when men use lifts. Try it yourself. Get other men to try it and you'll see that this is true. Or you could look at this video of young men trying to walk in high heels. Skip to 2:36. Note the distinctly bent knees. If you are wearing a suit and trying to make yourself taller, lifts are an understandable option.
However, for those who desperately wanted a big, scary teddybear creature, the bent knee became proof that it wasn't human. However, this created a problem because how could someone argue that the crippled gait of other primates fits with an animal that normally walks upright? The answer was relabeling. No, it was asserted; compliant walking isn't the gait of something designed for other forms of locomotion, rather it is actually superior to the human gait. It was claimed that the bent knee cushioned the bones and allowed a longer stride and increased walking efficiency without all that vertical motion.
The problem though is that none of this is true. In third world countries, heavy loads are commonly carried on the head. When you do this it is essential that you minimize vertical motion. Various people have studied this and it has been shown over and over to be more efficient than carrying loads on the back. If the PG claims were true then you would expect these people to use a compliant walk to gain that vaunted bigfoot walking efficiency. Unfortunately, none of them do. The vertical motion is prevented by wiggling the hips, not by walking with bent knees.
Here is a video of a woman carrying a heavy load on her head. She's been doing this her whole life so she is far more of an expert than the bigfoot crowd on efficient walking. Skip to 1:05 and pause the video as she walks. You'll see that both of her legs are straight when they are under her. So much for claimed superiority and necessity of compliant walking.
This is the difference between real science and feel-good folklore. Science can be demonstrated; you can see it with your own eyes. Try it and you get the same result. With folklore, you can beg, you can pound the table, or you can get insulting; but the one thing you can never actually do is demonstrate it.
Compliant walking for bigfoot is a myth.
I got tired of seeing fake science and convoluted logic in the PG thread. So, I have a reply.
Homo sapiens is the only mammal on planet Earth that habitually and efficiently walks upright. Humans can run marathons and walk for thousands of miles as they routinely do on the Appalachian, Pacific Crest, and Continental Divide trails every year. Humans do walk in the most efficient way possible as you would expect after 3 million years of evolution. Some other primates can walk short distances upright. However, because their hips are designed for things like climbing trees and knuckle walking, they can't fully straighten their legs and therefore walk compliantly. The only other primate that can stand upright is the orangutan but even they cannot walk efficiently.
When people scrutinized the PG film, they noticed that sometimes the Pattysuit figure has bent knees. Walking with bent knees is a common side-effect when men use lifts. Try it yourself. Get other men to try it and you'll see that this is true. Or you could look at this video of young men trying to walk in high heels. Skip to 2:36. Note the distinctly bent knees. If you are wearing a suit and trying to make yourself taller, lifts are an understandable option.
However, for those who desperately wanted a big, scary teddybear creature, the bent knee became proof that it wasn't human. However, this created a problem because how could someone argue that the crippled gait of other primates fits with an animal that normally walks upright? The answer was relabeling. No, it was asserted; compliant walking isn't the gait of something designed for other forms of locomotion, rather it is actually superior to the human gait. It was claimed that the bent knee cushioned the bones and allowed a longer stride and increased walking efficiency without all that vertical motion.
The problem though is that none of this is true. In third world countries, heavy loads are commonly carried on the head. When you do this it is essential that you minimize vertical motion. Various people have studied this and it has been shown over and over to be more efficient than carrying loads on the back. If the PG claims were true then you would expect these people to use a compliant walk to gain that vaunted bigfoot walking efficiency. Unfortunately, none of them do. The vertical motion is prevented by wiggling the hips, not by walking with bent knees.
Here is a video of a woman carrying a heavy load on her head. She's been doing this her whole life so she is far more of an expert than the bigfoot crowd on efficient walking. Skip to 1:05 and pause the video as she walks. You'll see that both of her legs are straight when they are under her. So much for claimed superiority and necessity of compliant walking.
This is the difference between real science and feel-good folklore. Science can be demonstrated; you can see it with your own eyes. Try it and you get the same result. With folklore, you can beg, you can pound the table, or you can get insulting; but the one thing you can never actually do is demonstrate it.
Compliant walking for bigfoot is a myth.
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