A origem natural evolutiva da roda, isso mesmo, da roda!

Reinventing the Wheel -- Naturally

ScienceDaily (July 16, 2010) — Humans did not invent the wheel. Nature did.

While the evolution from the Neolithic solid stone wheel with a single hole for an axle to the sleek wheels of today's racing bikes can be seen as the result of human ingenuity, it also represents how animals, including humans, have come to move more efficiently and quicker over millions of years on Earth, according to a Duke University engineer.

This is a fanciful rendering of Leonardo da Vinci's Vetruvian Man as a wheel. (Credit: Adrian Bejan)

Adrian Bejan, professor of mechanical engineering at Duke's Pratt School of Engineering, argues that just as the design of wheels became lighter with fewer spokes over time, and better at distributing the stresses of hitting the ground, animals have evolved as well to move better on Earth. In essence, over millions of years, animals such as humans developed the fewest "spokes," or legs, as the most efficient method for carrying an increasing body weight and height more easily.

"This prediction of how wheels should emerge in time is confirmed by the evolution of wheel technology," Bejan said. "For example, during the development of the carriage, solid disks were slowly replaced by wheels with tens of spokes."

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Read more here: Science Daily

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NOTA IRÔNICA DESTE BLOGGER:

Como que a maior ideia que toda a humanidade já teve não seria capaz de criar (Argh, isso é como cometer um assassinato epistêmico) de dar origem à roda? A evolução é muito mais inteligente (quem disse isso???) do que você, idiota!!!

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