# Why didn't humans evolve with more flexibility? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 9, 2008, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-humans-evolve-with-more-flexibility/448738 "2008-05-09T20:15:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2008, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-humans-evolve-with-more-flexibility/448738/21 "2008-05-10T10:20:24Z")
[QUOTE=Mojo Pin] Athletes … a group that consists of the very best physical specimens of our species– [/QUOTE] By what standard? Since when does physical strength/speed equal better mating opportunities. If you add in “large carnivors eat weaklings” (which they don’t today but they would to a prehistoric man) then I get to add in “Weaklings don’t need as much protein”. See where I’m going with this? Pushing your body to the limit can make life harder and make you less likely to produce offspring. I mean, by your strength=prowess reasoning, we should all be 200 feet tall, able to stomp on any other creature! ---
**Author:** ![Mojo\_Pin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mojo\_Pin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mojo_Pin)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2008, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-humans-evolve-with-more-flexibility/448738/22 "2008-05-10T10:31:31Z")
[QUOTE=IntelSoldier] By what standard? Since when does physical strength/speed equal better mating opportunities. If you add in “large carnivors eat weaklings” (which they don’t today but they would to a prehistoric man) then I get to add in “Weaklings don’t need as much protein”. See where I’m going with this? Pushing your body to the limit can make life harder and make you less likely to produce offspring. I mean, by your strength=prowess reasoning, we should all be 200 feet tall, able to stomp on any other creature! [/QUOTE] The standard is the sport. Top athletes of a particular sport are the very best specimens of our species at that particular sport, I never meant at reproduction. I don’t know what you read into my post, but you’ve misunderstood me. I offered the “pushing their body to the limits” line as a response to the OP’s question about why athletes need to stretch all the time. To rephrase, athletes need to stretch because they need to be as flexible as they possibly can RELATIVE to any other athlete of our species–therefore even if we had evolved more flexible, athletes would \*still \*be stretching and working out in order to compete, the bar would just be higher. Comprende? I actually go on to state why I DONT think flexibility/physical prowess is necessarily needed for survival and why I think we evolved as we did. Hope we’re clear now. edit: mistake ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2008, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-humans-evolve-with-more-flexibility/448738/23 "2008-05-10T10:49:26Z")
The simple answer is that if males were flexible enough, reproduction would never happen. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mojo\_Pin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mojo\_Pin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mojo_Pin)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2008, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-humans-evolve-with-more-flexibility/448738/24 "2008-05-10T10:51:11Z")
[QUOTE=chaoticbear] The simple answer is that if males were flexible enough, reproduction would never happen. 😃 [/QUOTE] Brilliant. ---
**Author:** ![Duhkecco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8491ac/32.png) [@Duhkecco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duhkecco)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2008, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-humans-evolve-with-more-flexibility/448738/25 "2008-05-10T12:13:54Z")
[QUOTE=chaoticbear] The simple answer is that if males were flexible enough, reproduction would never happen. 😃 [/QUOTE] Or, if they developed opposable thumbs … ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2008, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-humans-evolve-with-more-flexibility/448738/26 "2008-05-10T12:17:03Z")
[QUOTE=Duhkecco] Or, if they developed opposable thumbs … [/QUOTE] You badly need to look up the definition of “opposable.” Or to have paid better attention in high school. ---
**Author:** ![Duhkecco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8491ac/32.png) [@Duhkecco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duhkecco)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2008, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-humans-evolve-with-more-flexibility/448738/27 "2008-05-10T12:55:51Z")
[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase] You badly need to look up the definition of “opposable.” Or to have paid better attention in high school. [/QUOTE] Okay, first of all, it was a joke, and I used a common line about what makes humans different from other animals. (Not that I’m saying that this is the difference.) Second, is there something wrong with this comment in Wikipedia?: > [@](#): > > The thumb, unlike other fingers, is opposable, in that it is the only digit on the human hand which is able to oppose or turn back against the other four fingers, and thus enables the hand to refine its grip to hold objects which it would be unable to do otherwise. > **[Thumb](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thumb#Importance_of_the_opposable_thumb)** > > The thumb is the first digit of the hand, next to the index finger.\[A\] When a person is standing in the medical anatomical position (where the palm is facing to the front), the thumb is the outermost digit. The Medical Latin English noun for thumb is pollex (compare hallux for big toe), and the corresponding adjective for thumb is pollical\[B\]. > The English word finger has two senses, even in the context of appendages of a single typical human hand: > 1) Any of the five terminal members of the hand.... Uh, wait a minute: Did you get **chaoticbear** ’s joke? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2008, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-humans-evolve-with-more-flexibility/448738/28 "2008-05-10T13:00:29Z")
[QUOTE=Duhkecco] Uh, wait a minute: Did you get **chaoticbear** ’s joke? [/QUOTE] Uh, yeah. It didn’t involve thumbs. ---
**Author:** ![Duhkecco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8491ac/32.png) [@Duhkecco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duhkecco)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2008, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-humans-evolve-with-more-flexibility/448738/29 "2008-05-10T13:14:15Z")
[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase] Uh, yeah. It didn’t involve thumbs. [/QUOTE] That’s why I said “Or, if …” Okay, I took **chaoticbear** ’s post to be a reference to autofellatio. My comment was about masturbation. Neither activity directly leads to procreation. FWIW, I’m gone for the day. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2008, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-humans-evolve-with-more-flexibility/448738/30 "2008-05-10T13:41:37Z")
For what it’s worth, I got your joke. I thought it was pretty obvious, but sometimes a smiley helps for those who are not quite as “flexible” in their humor. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-humans-evolve-with-more-flexibility/448738.md?page=1)