A thought experiment
May. 11th, 2005 02:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
apparentparadoxAt the gym, I notice some truly amazing "styles" of weightlifting. When I see some of these people, I sometimes play one of the following thought experiment games:
What muscles are they working? In this game, I try to determine both what muscles they are actually using in their actions, and what muscles they think that they are working. It's usually pretty easy to figure out what they think they're working -- at least there's usually a big hint based on what machine they are using or whether they are using a straight bar or dumbbells. For extra credit, once you've determined the muscles that are actually being used, figure out how to modify the exercise so that it is a better exercise for those muscles without changing it drastically.
What planet are they from? In this game, I assume that the person is actually an alien from another planet who evolved using a completely different environment from Earth. On this distant planet, muscles would have formed differently, etc. I try to figure out what evoluntionary differences were necessary in order for "that motion they are doing" to have some benefit to their body. [Note that I often have to make the assumption that alien muscles don't suffer from tears when they are wrenched one way and then the other]
What muscles are they working? In this game, I try to determine both what muscles they are actually using in their actions, and what muscles they think that they are working. It's usually pretty easy to figure out what they think they're working -- at least there's usually a big hint based on what machine they are using or whether they are using a straight bar or dumbbells. For extra credit, once you've determined the muscles that are actually being used, figure out how to modify the exercise so that it is a better exercise for those muscles without changing it drastically.
What planet are they from? In this game, I assume that the person is actually an alien from another planet who evolved using a completely different environment from Earth. On this distant planet, muscles would have formed differently, etc. I try to figure out what evoluntionary differences were necessary in order for "that motion they are doing" to have some benefit to their body. [Note that I often have to make the assumption that alien muscles don't suffer from tears when they are wrenched one way and then the other]