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> If women’s pelvises were any bigger, they would not be able to walk and run well. That picked my interest so I dug deeper. The author cites p.252 of Brockman
by euyyn 10y ago
> If women’s pelvises were any bigger, they would not be able to walk and run well.
That picked my interest so I dug deeper. The author cites p.252 of Brockman's "What is your dangerous idea?", which is an essay by Prof. Timothy Taylor called "The Human Brain is a Cultural Artifact". Sadly, even though its topic is indeed human brains and pelvises, the essay says nothing of the sort. So Prof. Davies made up the claim, or misattributed the citation and didn't check it.
- Mz 10y agoWomen get 4-6x the knee injuries men get, so something is undermining our ability to walk and run. http://oregonstate.edu/ua/ncs/archives/2012/apr/knee-injuries-women-linked-motion-nervous-system-differences http://oregonstate.edu/ua/ncs/archives/2012/apr/knee-injurie... https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-03/uotm-waw031816.php https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-03/uotm-waw0318... https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.ucdenver.edu/academics/colleges/medicalschool/departments/Orthopaedics/clinicalservices/sportsmed/Documents/WISH_SPORTSMED_Female%2520Knee%2520Injuries%2520and%2520ACL.pdf&ved=0ahUKEwjF08a_wIHRAhUB7SYKHdJ0A_YQFgg9MAc&usg=AFQjCNFhUTurlVSeFsoSJEfrpjXvcEafsQ&sig2=Z6u3fOim74Cchcwt2q8Swg https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://...
- Benjamin_Dobell 10y agoI wonder how much that is attributed to difference in behaviour. 4-6x is a huge difference (assuming that's accurate) so it's unlikely all of that could be behavioural. However, high heel shoes and hand-bags are known to cause lots of posture-related issues. In Australia, young women also tend to play different sports. For example, Netball, which is notoriously strenuous on knees and ankles.
- Mz 10y agoThere may be exacerbating behavioral differences, but my sons tell me women have greater lower body strength than men. Based on what I have heard about Chinese foot-binding and how it impacted female musculature, I strongly suspect this increased lower body strength is related to the skeletal differences between men and women. I also have serious health problems that cause belly bloat. As I get that under control, it has an impact on my hips and that always causes me knee discomfort (especially at night, trying to find a comfortable sleep position) during the time that the entire leg structure realigns. So my firsthand experience suggests that hip structure significantly impacts the knees.
- xiaoma 10y agoYeah, I used to see that all the time when I was running competitively in school. I don't think I knew a single guy with an ITB Syndrome / injury but so many of the gals got sidelined with that kind of knee problem.
- Chris2048 10y agoAlso, women have hips only just wide enough to give birth safely. Many need c-sections, and childbirth is painful and risky. Why would this evolve if there wasn't an equally strong survival pressure to having a smaller pelvis? It doesn't even need to be knee problems, just not being able to run as fast might do.
- sbierwagen 10y agoThis is known as the Obstetrical Dilemma. It's not entirely settled science, though: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obstetrical_dilemma#Challenges_to_the_Obstetrical_Dilemma_Hypothesis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obstetrical_dilemma#Challenges...
- bookbinder 10y ago*piqued (not complaining, just thought you should know).