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>> Humans evolved to stand upright and outrun their predators Forgive my ignorance, but are there any predators that we actually can outrun? Pretty much every
by mamon 8y ago
>> Humans evolved to stand upright and outrun their predators
Forgive my ignorance, but are there any predators that we actually can outrun? Pretty much every four-legged mammal is faster, except maybe elephants.
- krackers 8y agoI thought it wasn't in speed that humans excel but rather endurance. That is, we wouldn't be able to escape a lion chasing us but we can hunt down deer/etc. until they collapse from exhaustion. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persistence_hunting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persistence_hunting
- rm_-rf_slash 8y agoBingo. Over a short distance a tiger or cheetah would maul a human, but over a longer distance a prey species like a gazelle would tire out and eventually a human would be able to catch up with it.
- Groxx 8y agoSo since we evolved to chase our prey rather than run from hunters, maybe we should program by putting our computer on a gazelle, and we have to catch it in order to write code for the [time period]? It'd certainly lead to more thinking before writing, maybe the tradeoff would be worth it.
- saagarjha 8y agoIf you’re fine with waiting a couple days for the gazelle to tire out before you can catch up to it, sure. And that’s if you know the signs to follow where the gazelle is.
- mamon 8y agoFrom the linked Wikipedia entry it seems that it usually takes 2 to 5 hours, and 25 to 35 km chase. Not sure why you say "couple days". And hunters usually know the signs to follow to track a gazelle, so that's also non-issue.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- walkingolof 8y agoAvarage human cant outrun anything it seems: http://www.speedofanimals.com/ http://www.speedofanimals.com/
- emodendroket 8y agoI mean when we talk about the capabilities of monkeys we don't discount the stuff they do with tools.
- Tharkun 8y agoI'm not sure why you're being down voted. This is a legitimate question. Humans are endurance hunters, that much is clear. You can't rely on endurance to escape from a faster predator with bigger teeth and sharper claws. The original statement seems false. Humans did not evolve to outrun their predators, but rather their prey.