We pay little attention to gravity unless we drop something on our foot or trip and fall, dismissing it as a constant vertical force acting on us. Evolving to stand and move while “zeroing out” this primary influence on our morphology is a foundational accomplishment of land-based animals. Remarkably, the design of our bodies can safely function over a lifetime within this force without much conscious vigilance. However, rather uniquely amongst animals, we can consciously attenuate our movement patterns, allowing us to continue to refine our movement kinematics. Engaging thus extends our functional\/structural scope in myriad ways. This augmentation is facilitated by an accurate understanding of the qualities of the dominant force we operate within – gravity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We know that gravity is acceleration – an increase in speed of about 30 feet per second every second. This statement is non-intuitive – how are we accelerating while it is apparent that we are not moving? A solution to this puzzle resides in established physics, validated for over 100 years but yet to percolate into common awareness1<\/a><\/sup>, elucidated in the short illustrated narrative below. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It is also helpful to understand how dynamic this force is, delineated in this example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n We are comfortable within and pretty much ignore the force of gravity2<\/a><\/sup>. However, if we apply this same force to our bodies in an unaccustomed direction it becomes quite apparent what we are dealing with, This opportunity is afforded us when we accelerate in a muscle car. Land animals evolved to “offset” our perception of this force on our bodies, “zeroing-out” the gravitational effect, thereby often making it barely noticable3<\/a><\/sup>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Recognizing that all of our surroundings and our bodies are accelerating away from the center of the earth at this rate is a foundational reframe. What we call weight is the inertia of our mass as we are forced(thrust) in a vector pointing outward from the center of Earth’s mass4<\/a><\/sup>. Addressing this force has been the foundational issue for life that migrated onto land from a weightless(neutral buoyancy) persistence in water. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Having loaded our primary movement mechanics onto two legs from the four we evolved with further prioritizes this issue. It is a remarkable evolutionary achievement that we stand and walk on two legs without paying much attention to this force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is hoped that this short illustrated guide on Special Relativity is both informative and enjoyable:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Accelerating from 0-60 miles per hour in about 2.7 seconds applies the equivalent horizontal force to our bodies as does gravity.
Before high-end BEVs, this force could only be experienced on the road in the highest-performing power cars from fabricators like Ferrari and Lamborghini.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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