[ExI] ai is the easy road

[John Clark]

On Sun, Oct 18, 2026 at 3:55 AM Ben Zaiboc via extropy-chat <
extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:

> On 17/10/2026 22:35, John K Clark wrote:
> >* > Yes but I don't see why Bipedal walking would be better at endurance
> than quadratic walking, if anything the reverse would seem more likely to
> me. *
>
>
> * > I've wondered this myself before, but it seems to be true. I put it to
> the test, years ago, with a friend's dog. I used to take it for walks on a
> large open space of grass, and although the dog could run much faster than
> me, I would often wear it out by just steadily jogging after it. It would
> run off, sit down to have a rest until I got near, run off again, etc,
> etc., it was easy for me to keep jogging at a steady pace, and eventually
> the dog would slow down, start trotting, but I always caught up to it, and
> it was absolutely knackered after a while, then we'd go home.*
>

*Yes but that has nothing to do with bipedalism. Dogs are covered with fur
which is vital in the winter but a disadvantage in the summer. Humans have
clothes that they can put on in the winter and take off in the summer, so
they don't need fur, and unlike dogs human naked skin has sweat glands
which enables them to efficiently cool off.  *


*John K Clark*






>
> Perhaps quadripeds are better at speed, but humans seem better adapted for
> steady, long-distance running. Perhaps there's a psychological aspect as
> well. I think wolves can patiently trot and wear prey down in a similar
> way, so maybe it's just that most prey animals are wired to run off as fast
> as possible, which wears them out quickly. Perhaps it's about being chased
> vs. chasing rather than biped vs. quadruped.
>
> Looking at the biomechanics, being tall, with 2 legs, might be more
> efficient for running than being short with 4 legs. With bipeds, gravity
> does some of the work, which is not so with quadrupeds, or a lot less so.
> Consider ostriches, they are even better than humans at both speed and
> distance running, due to their legs being skinnier and lighter, and the
> muscles that operate them being closer to their centre of gravity, so less
> effort to swing the legs.
>
> This site: https://wildlifeanswers.blog/animals-run-longer-than-humans
> says the most significant factor is heat dissipation. We are long and thin,
> almost entirely hairless, with lots of sweat glands, so much better at
> keeping cool during exercise than squat, hairy beasts with many fewer sweat
> glands, that have to stop and pant to get rid of heat. Huskies beat us
> hands down in cold weather, so this looks like a believable explanation.
>
> --
> Ben
> "The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who
> watch them without doing anything." - Pablo Casals, via Albert Einstein
>
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