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that's exactly the limited engineering perspective to be wary of. biology doesn't consider those things, it just finds a way in a staggeringly multidimensional

that's exactly the limited engineering perspective to be wary of. biology doesn't consider those things, it just finds a way in a staggeringly multidimensional space of real consequences (also, muscles are just one, amazing, component of a holistic locomotory organism). rotary locomotion likely evolved multiple times over the eons and was outcompeted away by legged (and other) creatures with more mobility to find food and mates. for a potential analogue/precursor, consider the rotary joints we have in our bodies. legged locomotion has evolved to be quite efficient in certain ways too. human legs, for instance, evolved for walking/jogging long distances efficiently (we have 2 gait-dependent locomotory efficiency points at two different speeds). but we can also climb and run and kick and hop and swim and more when required, unlike rollers.

bsder 6y ago
> rotary locomotion likely evolved multiple times over the eons and was outcompeted away by legged (and other) creatures with more mobility to find food and mates. Unlikely. Something that has the possibility to be so staggeringly more efficient would have found some niche even in present day. At least one spider makes itself into a wheel to roll down sand dunes faster than a predatory wasp can follow. When something as complicated and calorically expensive as vision can evolve multiple times, the fact that rotary power hasn't evolved says that there is a block somewhere. And, rotary power has evolved in some flagellar creatures. However, what evolved was a cellular ratchet. The system can go one direction only, and there was effectively no fine control for exactly the reasons I mentioned. > for a potential analogue/precursor, consider the rotary joints we have in our bodies. And those joints have complicated musculature and are relatively easy to permanently damage.

bsder 6y ago

> rotary locomotion likely evolved multiple times over the eons and was outcompeted away by legged (and other) creatures with more mobility to find food and mates. Unlikely. Something that has the possibility to be so staggeringly more efficient would have found some niche even in present day. At least one spider makes itself into a wheel to roll down sand dunes faster than a predatory wasp can follow. When something as complicated and calorically expensive as vision can evolve multiple times, the fact that rotary power hasn't evolved says that there is a block somewhere. And, rotary power has evolved in some flagellar creatures. However, what evolved was a cellular ratchet. The system can go one direction only, and there was effectively no fine control for exactly the reasons I mentioned. > for a potential analogue/precursor, consider the rotary joints we have in our bodies. And those joints have complicated musculature and are relatively easy to permanently damage.