Man's supreme inheritance : $b Conscious guidance and control in relation to human evolution in civilizationAlexander, F. Matthias (Frederick Matthias)
Science
Man's supreme inheritance : $b Conscious guidance and control in relation to human evolution in civilization
I will, here, only note one more point in concluding my reference to the
hypothetical John Doe, who, nevertheless, stands as the representative
of a very large body of people. This point is the question of the
storing and reserving of energy, and, to use a phrase which has a
mechanical equivalent, the registration of tension. If you ask a man to
lift a _papier-mâché_ imitation of an enormous dumb-bell, leading him to
believe that it is almost beyond his capacity to raise it from the
floor, he will exert his full power in the effort to do that which he
could perform with the greatest ease. In a lesser degree the same
expenditure of unnecessary force is exerted by the vast majority of
“physical culture” students, and by practically every person in the
ordinary duties of daily life. The kinæsthetic system has not been
taught to register correctly the tension or, in other words, to gauge
accurately the amount of muscular effort required to perform certain
acts, the expenditure of effort always being in excess of what is
required, an excellent instance of the lack of harmony in the untutored
organism. This fact may be easily tested by any interested person who
will take the trouble to try its application. Ask a friend to lift a
chair or any other object of such weight that, while it may be lifted
without great difficulty, will in the process make an undoubted call on
the muscular energies. You will see at once that your friend will
approach the task with a definite preconception as to the amount of
physical tension necessary. His mind is exclusively occupied with the
question of his own muscular effort, instead of with the purpose in
front of him and the best means to undertake it. Before he has even
approached it, he will brace or tense the muscles of his arms, back,
neck, etc., and when about to perform the act he will place himself in a
position which is actually one of mechanical disadvantage as far as he
is concerned. Not only are all these preparations of course quite
unnecessary, but the whole attitude of mind towards the task is wrong.
In such instances as this, any preconception as to the degree of tension
required is out of place. If we desire to lift a weight with the least
possible waste of energy, we should approach it and grasp it with
relaxed muscles, assuming the position of greatest possible mechanical
advantage, and then gradually exert our muscular energies until
sufficient power is attained to overcome the resistance.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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