Crazy science at it again

Spotted this story earlier and it raised an eyebrow or two :

Good dancing may be sign of male health.

It's saying that blokes who dance well, in particular the core body areas of torso, neck and head, are more attractive. I think there's something to this, although they're missing some of the point as is usual for Crazy (read qualitative instead of quantitative) Science.

True - a person who moves well is (to me), far more attractive than someone who walks like a duck. But then again, you can move well in one sphere and then be a total clutz in others. I bet most of the dancers out there can't sprint half as quick as I can and I bet they would cry MOMMY when faced with a cricket ball coming at them. But they look good due to having heaps of practice.

That's actually like a few of the cricketers I see in the teams I play for and against. They'll talk the talk but when it comes to actually doing, they're either utterly uncoordinated or too scared to do the business. They look after themselves instead of putting it on the line for the team.

Doh - straying off the point again (like usual !)

I think there's something to all this dancing makes you look good lark. It's a healthy exercise, keeps you moving and practicing good coordination of movement will keep you fitter and trimmer. Being coordinated is a good sign that someone is physically healthy. Using me again, I have good days and bad days where some days everything will just click and I'll be fine. Other days, one of the long term injuries will pop up and remind me it's there and I'll be hiding limps.

I judge my own health on how quietly I walk. I usually walk pretty quickly (no worries about watching for people overtaking !) but it's the efficiency I aim for. That means being able to creep up behind people and make them jump (muahahaa). If my legs aren't too healthy then I'll be clomping along instead of ghosting along.

How's my walking relate to dancing ? I'll never be a great dancer, as my physique definitely works against me. Ignoring the belly (which doesn't actually restrict my movement that much), I have massive leg muscles. They're bigger than they should be, which means I wear knee pads when running to stop them blowing up my knees. I sprint very quickly, although I missed out on competition at school due to injuring my back.

Those leg muscles work against me though. Very fast in a straight line but the extra mass as tricky to get moving. A case of having too much power. Cue : Dad Dancer. When I am moving though, change of direction comes quick and easy.

Another example - I occasionally get drawn into the horse racing world. Rarely to bet because I'm a firm believer in the result changing when you get sight of it. If I don't bet, my pick wins, if I bet then my pick fails. Meh. I make my pick by looking at form but mostly by seeing how the horse moves. However ... it's all well and good the horse moving beautifully at a walk, they're not going to be walking on the course. What really counts is attitude, frame and whether you believe that horse is going to Go Real Fast. A horse that goes like a donkey at the walk can often be lightning at a gallop.

It's curious how things change in the subconscious. In our hunter gatherer days, it would have been the fast runners, the efficient hunters and the endurance people who would have caught the eye. Now, it's the people who look coordinated standing still who catch the eye.

I definitely support the general premise of the theory : dancing shows off how healthy and structurally sound a body is. But I'd disagree about it being indicative of anything more than that. Being able to dance well doesn't mean you have a brain, doesn't say anything about personality* and doesn't say how clever those fingers are at massaging out tension.

*(good dancer could actually indicate an undesirable personality due to an over abundance of Self Focus - never been too interested in those who cannot empathise with others)

Maybe a little practice would lead to better dancing :-) In the meantime, I'll bemoan the luck of being able to sprint like lightning but be a total clutz on the dancefloor :-).