How do we walk?

Question

I mean, it seems like common sense to walk. But how do we do it? How can we suddenly get such good balance on two feet? And why are there so many different ways of walking? What's the best way to walk (e.g. coolest, most professional, most efficient)? How do you walk?
Thanks, and sorry I have to say this, but if you're going to answer, post a real answer and not an insult.

Answer 1

Chin up, hands loosely at your sides and maintain steady slow breathing. Swift paces are most professional.

Answer 2

Walking is basically a natural instinct that we are born with. When we are babies we are not strong enough to support our body weight so we crawl until our legs become strong enough to do so. The balancing of our body weight is actually controlled by our inner ear. This is where our equalibrium is generated from. If you've ever had an inner ear infection you notice you get dizzy and almost fall over, or if you spin yourself around you get dizzy and fall. Without our equalibrium we would not be able to stand erect and walk no matter how developed our muscles and bones were. As for how to walk...everyone has a different style of walking. Power walking, where you hold yourself tall and walk with determination is the walk of most successful business people.

Answer 3

This research was published in Nature Neuroscience on 21 May 2006.

Scientists at the Salk Institute in California studied how our brains decipher gender using the visual cues that make male and female walking styles - gaits - distinctive. 'Differences in body shape mean women tend to sway at the hips when they walk, while men move more at the shoulders,' explains brain expert Heather Jordan.Heather Jordan, brain expert, the Salk Institute, California

The researchers were surprised to find that our brains interpret these gait cues using only single nerve cells, or neurons, specialised for the job. They also discovered that these neurons adapt to become maximally sensitive to changes in walking style.

How did they find out?
The researchers used motion capture to convert the movement of real people into computer-generated 3D virtual human figures - the same technique that lets animators create lifelike 'people' in computer games.

Next they manipulated these virtual figures to create short movie clips of typical male, female and ambiguous 'point-light-walkers' - removing all the figures' detail to leave only a few moving spots of light. Then they asked volunteers to watch the films and to decide which gender they were seeing.

What were the results?

The volunteers were more likely to decide an ambiguous 'point-light-walker' was female if they'd seen a male figure first. The effect happened vice versa too.For the scientists, this was a sure sign that individual brain neurons were recognising male and female walkers. And that these neurons were becoming adapted to recognise small changes in gait cues.
But why is this important? 'Until now, we scientists have been unable to put our finger on how the human brain represents abstract concepts like gender. Our experiments suggest that if gender can be represented using a single neuron then other high-level social information could be too.

'Eventually this could give us new insights into understanding social behaviours and then possibly disorders of social behaviour like autism.' Heather Jordan, the Salk Institute, California

Answer 4

walking is a voluntary activity brought about by the co ordination of skeletal or striped muscles.two kinds of muscles take part in the action- extensor muscles and the flexor muscles.
while the contraction of the former extends ur leg forward, the contraction of the latter helps to bring the other foot forward ie. it brings together the 2 legs.
this brings about walking.
of course, it also involves gravity and the force of friction between the foot and ground, but then that is not related to biology!

Answer 5

We definitely walk how we feel. I mean, if we're confident, our shoulders are back, chest slightly out. If we're bummed, our shoulders are hunched forward.

I walk confidently - so much so, that a couple of people have said that I look like a narc. I have a straight back, and I look forward. I don't look down. I usually make and hold eye contact - not in a threatening way, just a pleasant "wanting to say hello and I noticed you today" kind of way.

I am very conscious about keeping my FEET straight rather than letting them stray outward. I take long steps and tend to walk slower than my hubby who has what I call his TURBO BUTT. He always leaves me in his dust if I don't hang on!!!

Hope this helps! I'm 5'10".

Answer 6

I walk with my back straight so my posture will be good. I hate those walks when theres like a little skip between each step. Lots of rappers walk like that.

Answer 7

Hold up the upper part of your body as you should for standing.
Swing you legs from the hip as you step. Keep your toes pointed straight ahead and your feet parallel.

Answer 8

the most professional way to walk is heel toe

no offence this a funny question hoped i helped

Answer 9

lol, believe it or not I actually had to study the physiology of walking, we evolved walking to free up our hands and to see above tall grasses, as for the mechanics of it: as I remember it the books said that walking is the act of falling, but before we fall, we place one foot infront of ourselves, then we repeat the process. bet you didn't think that there was science behind it!

Answer 10

Are body weight is evenly spread out which helps us remain stable. Good question, and my answer is just a guess.