(07-28-2014, 11:03 PM)LiadansWhisper Wrote:I've seen this theory before, but it's never made a lot of sense to me.(07-28-2014, 07:46 PM)Zyrusticae Wrote: Part of the reason we're weaker is because our brains are actually holding us back in order to prevent us from damaging ourselves in the process of exertion.Â
I would really l like a citation on this, because I have literally never heard this before.
There are theories that chalk up the difference to differences in fine motor control, or to evolutionary differences designed to allow more metabolic activity for our brains without increasing the amount of food we have to eat, but there are other theories pointing to differences in the length of muscle fibers, muscle proteins, or leverage.
There's an interesting study on bonobos, though, that looks at their jumping performance and determines that bonobos generate about as much force while jumping as an adult human, despite their smaller size. This is interesting because, while (as Nat says) chimps and bonobos do have these big ol' arms, bonobos have pretty stubby legs compared to humans.
