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Comment by joe_the_user | Hacker News Reader

Biochemical Individuality by Roger Williams [1] is an amazing read. It discusses a wide variety of "unusual" human physiological characteristics, including bones that only occur sometimes.

One hears the refrain "everyone is unique". The thing is, technically you can say "every factory made part is unique" at some level. But humans are much more unique on many more different levels, than any human-made-machine (things like bone density or blood saltiness vary widely. Indeed, very few measures are uniform for everyone).

The remarkable thing is how the different parts of a living thing can still function well with that capacity to vary.

[1] https://www.amazon.com/Biochemical-Individuality-Roger-Willi...

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My favorite was a statistician in the late 40's early 50's who was tasked by the air force to find the 'average pilot'. The reason was new fangled jet fighters were crashing due to pilot error. At higher rates than could be anything but problems with the man machine interface.

He and his helpers took 10's of thousands of measurements of thousands of air force pilots and determined that, there is no such thing as the 'average pilot'.

Well there was. About two dozen of them. Turns out that all the measurements were uncorrelated in the already highly selected group that is air force pilots.

Aerospace manufacturers were forced to redesign cockpits with adjustable seats and controls. And the rate of accidents declined.

> The remarkable thing is how the different parts of a living thing can still function well with that capacity to vary

What's really whack when you consider it is the same neuromuscular system that allows us to walk can also be repurposed to drive a car, fly a plane and operate other machinery.

What's really whack when you consider it is the same neuromuscular system that allows us to walk can also be repurposed to drive a car, fly a plane and operate other machinery.

Isn’t this because we purposely design all those things around our anatomy though?

I’d imagine alien octopuses’ vehicles would be designed around their anatomy and they would have no trouble using them.

Not OP, but I always thought it’s amazing how it becomes second nature.

You think you want to turn left and slow down, not I have to use my left foot to slowly press the brake and slowly move my hands in a circle while grasping.

Breaking with the left foot sounds really dangerous. What is the right foot doing?

...though I guess you were just reinforcing your point: driving becomes so second nature that you forget the implementation details.

People do totally drive two-footed. In a decently new car there's really no downsides, they'll stop themselves from tanking the engine if you mess up and hit both pedals.

In my experience the concern isn't the damage you cause to your car, but the confusion you give the driver behind you when your left foot resting on the break makes your break lights go on and off

Actually some modern cars do not light brake lights if you press on a pedal lightly, I think engineers are two feet drivers themselves. Test yours!

Actually, two feet driving is superior to traditional method in every way, especially on a slippery road. The only problem with it is that when you try it, you are a newbie again, so of course you can mix up pedals just like when you were learning driving. So train it on roads without traffic.

https://www.vox.com/2015/7/1/8877583/two-foot-driving-pedal-...

If you are used to a stick shift car, the issue is that the left foot is too 'heavy' and totally lacks the sensitivity to apply the brake.

At least that was my experience. I drove an automatic for the first time some years ago, and that was the only issue I detected.

The fact that you never have to move your feet from the corresponding pedals actually helps to avoid mixing up pedals.

It would be an issue in a rally when downshifts require a bit of throttle and you have to use two feet for three pedals.

Yes, that's a problem, but I'm used to a stick, and that issue was quickly resolved after an hour or two of practicing. One hint - use your ankle muscles, not calf to apply pressure with a left leg. If you don't have a low traffic road to practice, you can use go-kart for that too.

I'm not sure what you mean, but I noticed back when I was driving stick one of the things I do with my left foot (and I hate how I misspoke and derailed stuff) was lifted my heel from the floor of the car.

With my right foot on the gas and on the brakes I can just pivot my ankle to control the pedal with my heel resting on the floor, but with the clutch you typically have to quickly press it in completely, but then slowly and smoothly release it. Which is easier to do with your heel in the air.

That's standard in racing.

And race drivers can drive normal vehicles too.

Of course, they are the selected elite.

I am just pointing out this is not something that should be forbidden.

Yeah, I misspoke :P "left pedal" vs "left foot".

Please tell me you meant to say "right foot".

Or he is in a go-kart. :D

Yeah. I dun goofed.

> use my left foot to slowly press the brake

I'm not a driver, but isn't the left foot for the clutch? Don't you have to use both the clutch and the brake when stopping the car so the motor won't stop?

Fewer and fewer cars have clutches anymore, but if the car does have a clutch, then yes, the left foot would be for the clutch.

You shouldn't use your left foot for braking unless you're a sports driver. I just mispoke.

Oops dammit, I meant right foot, but got confused since it's the left pedal.

I am curious what limitations of our anatomy are out of the norm for other intelligent technological civilizations.

>> What's really whack when you consider it is the same neuromuscular system that allows us to walk can also be repurposed to drive a car, fly a plane and operate other machinery. > Isn’t this because we purposely design all those things around our anatomy though?

Agreed. What's more impressive is that this "single neuromuscular system" can climb a tree, swim across a lake, or hike across a continent.

This is also described in the book "The End of Average" https://www.amazon.com/End-Average-Succeed-Values-Sameness-e...

Also, maybe more in line with this news:

Freaks of Nature: What Anomalies Tell Us About Development and Evolution

https://www.amazon.com/Freaks-Nature-Anomalies-Development-E...

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