
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 3412: Bipedalism’s Message
Episode: 3412 In which we humans (and birds) depend upon being unstable – and thinking unstably. Today, we walk on two legs.
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Is this episode right for you?
B2 · Upper-intermediate
Comfortable if you already follow TV news
- 78% of the words are B1 or easier.
- 154 words a minute: a natural pace.
- 38 harder words (B2 and up) in the whole episode.
Transcript
The opening of the episode. The whole transcript is in the player.
harder words (B2+)
This programming is sponsored by Vestige Law, representing Texas businesses and startups through every stage of growth, from complex corporate structuring and contracts to business litigation. Consultations can be scheduled at vestige.law.
This is the Engines of Our Ingenuity, made possible by the friends of KUHF Houston. Today we walk on two legs. The University of Houston presents this series about the machines that make our civilization run and the people whose ingenuity created them.
Long ago in this series I wrote that we humans live in varying states of unstable equilibrium. So when we walk, we achieve a brief unstable balance on one foot, then we begin a non-equilibrium freefall and catch ourselves on the other foot. When we call someone unstable, we really mean that after they enter freefall, they struggle
That was the opening. The rest of the episode (3 min) is in the player: every word clickable, with translation, saved words and flashcards.
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