[extropy-chat] HISTORY: Solved & Unsolved Riddles

[John K Clark]

<kevinfreels at hotmail.com> Wrote:

 >It also gave them the ability to walk while looking
 >over the top of the tall  grasses on the savannah.
 >The taller, more upright ones could see
 >trouble  coming and avoid it better.

If you can see a predator better by standing up above the grass it also
means the predator can see you better, and that's bad news if you're slow as
molasses and if you walk on 2 legs you are. Better to just briefly come up
on 2 legs as many animals do and take a peek and then come back down on 4,
or just develop a long neck. I would think coming out of the trees and into
the open savannah would increase the trend toward 4 leg locomotion, but that
's not what happened and I've yet to hear a convincing theory that explained
why.

John K Clark      jonkc at att.net