Comment on Would one run faster without arms?
neidu3@sh.itjust.works 2 days ago
Doubt it. Arms are used for counterbalancing the legs while running, and without arms you won’t be able to use your legs as vigorously. Otherwise the torque would cause you to turn around.
NeatNit@discuss.tchncs.de 2 days ago
I have seen claims that this isn’t actually true, swinging our arms to counterbalance the legs is less efficient than just keeping them in place.
Where did I see this claim? Why, it was in this peer-reviewed scientific paper: youtu.be/-QW25fJ34nA , where by “peer-reviewed” I mean filmed with a live studio audience, and by “scientific paper” I mean segment of a TV panel show.
So uhhh yeah I’m not buying it but I can’t be bothered to check their sources.
neidu3@sh.itjust.works 2 days ago
While I do enjoy Windows (And TIL that Bill Baley is good at running backwards… I hadn’t seen that episode), I take some of their facts with a grain of salt, as it’s primarily an entertainment show. They do tend to oversimplify and miss some nuance from time to time.
NeatNit@discuss.tchncs.de 2 days ago
I assume Windows is inexplicably a typo of QI?
I totally agree. I believe they make some effort to get their facts right, but it’s not their highest priority by any stretch. I also suspect they might sometimes leave crucial details on the cutting room floor.
In this instance I get the impression that Sandi actually meant the arms are still swung but just kept straight, like a Minecraft run. But then Bill interpreted it as the arms kept straight and motionless, like that one Seinfeld episode, and Sandi didn’t correct him.
FuglyDuck@lemmy.world 2 days ago
if this were true then you’d see runners in Olympics and elsewhere not swinging their arms. also a pubmed.
SnokenKeekaGuard@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 days ago
And you can often just tell when a claim is just too suspicious to believe.