Monday, February 21, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
Everything with a beginning has an end...
Well my eight-game unbeaten streak was snapped on Thursday night by Matt Herald. I was on the Black side of a French Advance and had created a great position and began moving too fast, not looking at my opponent's options and got into trouble resembling my trouble at the Far West Open last year.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Friday, February 4, 2011
A little Anthropology for ya...
Neandertals and Endurance Running
Endurance running has been cited since the 1980’s as a possible explanation for the modern human body plan. Past studies have focused on the running abilities of species such as Homo ergaster and Homo sapiens, with little or no mention of other species or genera. Currently in press in the Journal of Human Evolution is a discussion of Neandertal running capabilities.
The authors observed the length of the calcaneal tuber of the foot, which correlates with how far the Achilles tendon will stretch during movement. For this study measurements were taken of both Homo sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis. Species with short calcaneal tubers stretch their Achilles tendons to a greater degree, which is then returned in the form of elastic energy. Species with long tubers stretch the Achilles tendon less and therefore have a lower return of elastic energy.
White Line: Calcaneus tuber length. Red Line: Achilles tendon moment. Correlation between the two values. Photo from Raichlen et al.
Simply put, a species with shorter calcaneal tubers will use less energy when running. Anatomically modern humans have been found to have short tubers, while longer ones are found on Neandertal remains. According to the authors, this variation has significant behavioral implications.
Unlike modern humans, the storage of less elastic energy in Neandertals would have made running less efficient. However, Neandertals were not necessarily at a disadvantage in the colder climates they are often said to have inhabited. It is more likely that running over long distances would have been energetically costly to them, without having huge benefits.
Long distance running would prove beneficial in warmer climates where animals are prone to hyperventilate when chased. Modern humans would have benefitted from endurance running because it would have aided in capturing prey. The same model does not necessarily apply in colder climates. A runner could chase an animal all day in low temperatures and never have the animal succumb to heat stress or hyperventilation. It is for this reason argued that the ability to run long distances would not have been as evolutionarily valuable to Homo neanderthalensis.
Discussing endurance running provides fascinating insight into human evolution. While the ability to run long distances can be very revealing about evolutionary history, lack of endurance can be as well.
By Matt Magnani
Raichlen, D.A., Armstrong, H., Lieberman, D.E. (2011). “Calcaneus length determines running economy: Implications for endurance running performance in modern humans and Neandertals.” The Journal of Human Evolution. Article in Press.
Endurance running has been cited since the 1980’s as a possible explanation for the modern human body plan. Past studies have focused on the running abilities of species such as Homo ergaster and Homo sapiens, with little or no mention of other species or genera. Currently in press in the Journal of Human Evolution is a discussion of Neandertal running capabilities.
The authors observed the length of the calcaneal tuber of the foot, which correlates with how far the Achilles tendon will stretch during movement. For this study measurements were taken of both Homo sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis. Species with short calcaneal tubers stretch their Achilles tendons to a greater degree, which is then returned in the form of elastic energy. Species with long tubers stretch the Achilles tendon less and therefore have a lower return of elastic energy.
White Line: Calcaneus tuber length. Red Line: Achilles tendon moment. Correlation between the two values. Photo from Raichlen et al.
Simply put, a species with shorter calcaneal tubers will use less energy when running. Anatomically modern humans have been found to have short tubers, while longer ones are found on Neandertal remains. According to the authors, this variation has significant behavioral implications.
Unlike modern humans, the storage of less elastic energy in Neandertals would have made running less efficient. However, Neandertals were not necessarily at a disadvantage in the colder climates they are often said to have inhabited. It is more likely that running over long distances would have been energetically costly to them, without having huge benefits.
Long distance running would prove beneficial in warmer climates where animals are prone to hyperventilate when chased. Modern humans would have benefitted from endurance running because it would have aided in capturing prey. The same model does not necessarily apply in colder climates. A runner could chase an animal all day in low temperatures and never have the animal succumb to heat stress or hyperventilation. It is for this reason argued that the ability to run long distances would not have been as evolutionarily valuable to Homo neanderthalensis.
Discussing endurance running provides fascinating insight into human evolution. While the ability to run long distances can be very revealing about evolutionary history, lack of endurance can be as well.
By Matt Magnani
Raichlen, D.A., Armstrong, H., Lieberman, D.E. (2011). “Calcaneus length determines running economy: Implications for endurance running performance in modern humans and Neandertals.” The Journal of Human Evolution. Article in Press.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Sunday, January 16, 2011
4 in a row!
Ok so in my last post I aid two in a row but I forgot that I won my last game at the Nevada State Championships so that makes 4 wins in a row. Anything to keep up the motivation. Here is my first round game of the Club Championship Qualifier against James Mann.
I missed an easy recapture in the opening that would have ensured a big advantage and then we both worked on positioning our pieces and pawns towards central clarity.
I missed an easy recapture in the opening that would have ensured a big advantage and then we both worked on positioning our pieces and pawns towards central clarity.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Two in a row
This one will be short and sweet. I followed up last week's victory with another win as White against a Caro-Kahn defense/Classical variation. Aside from two bad moves my game was pretty solid and I was aware of what I was doing with my minor pieces, whether my moves were right or wrong I was at least debating mentally, the merits of a move and how it could make my knights and bishops good/bad.
I ended up purposefully creating a bad bishop to weaken the enemy king position in this game and it worked out well. Enjoy!
I ended up purposefully creating a bad bishop to weaken the enemy king position in this game and it worked out well. Enjoy!
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