Evolution or devolution?
Man has developed over the past millions of years and we are inclined to think that this is just an evolution, an improvement, but the truth is different. Instead of an evolution, we have experienced a devolution in some areas. In short, instead of progress, we have partly created a regression.
In our development we have invented more and more tools that help us survive in our environment. These tools are absolutely valuable, but they also mean that we need our skills as humans less and less. For example, let a current teenager do a calculation without a calculator or try as an adult to start a fire without a lighter.
The idea that the caveman in prehistoric times was primitive and very limited in his skills and cognition is incorrect. It took enormous creativity, ingenuity and various physical skills to survive at the time. Something that is completely different and often no longer necessary in our current environment. That brings us to a second important issue. Is this evolution due to our nature or our nurture? Before we go into this, we will explain both in more detail.
Nature concerns all properties of the individual that are determined by predisposition, for example genetic material and physique.
Nurture concerns all characteristics of the individual that are determined by upbringing and living environment.
I would especially like to explain the physical aspect of both in more detail.
Our body is adaptive, which means that it adapts. However, not every tissue in our body adapts at the same speed. For example, our bone system adapts much more slowly than our muscular system. To fully adapt our body takes millions of years. Allowing the body to partially adapt is therefore much faster. The latter is, for example, the case with our muscular system.
Why are we becoming increasingly stiff and have less strength and/or endurance?
The answer is quite simple. Because we no longer or insufficiently need and deploy these skills in our current environment. We are all born with a genetic set of skills (nature), but how much of these skills we retain depends on how often we need and use them (nurture). As we are challenged less and less physically, we lose many skills. A deep squat is no longer possible for many people in Western culture, while in many other countries it is the most normal thing in the world to stay in this position for 1 to 2 hours. A deep squat is evolutionarily nothing more than a resting position. In Western civilization we mainly sit on furniture, which causes us to squat to a maximum of 90 degrees.
So anything below becomes a problem. In this respect, the people who live in Western civilization are underdeveloped and not the people who come from other civilizations and are often referred to as underdeveloped. Because we use fewer and fewer physical skills, because there is less and less need, we are physically deteriorating. As far as we are concerned, this is a worrying development. Because we are becoming increasingly physically limited, we also have less room for solutions to solve problems. If your flexibility and strength become limited, how do you climb a tree or can you, as a parent, still play around with your children optimally?
At Enforce we regularly deal with these types of issues and integrate solutions into our programs. If you are curious, make an appointment without obligation.
Roel Bors
Manager Quality & Training Enforce International BV
roel@enforce.nl
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