[General Battuta]

Well, I hope that's everybody's formula, since I imagine it works well.

[High Max]

;-)

[General Battuta]

I think that stuff's implied, High Max.

[IceFire]

So, basically, endurance is 100% a predictor of win? So what if you can run 26 miles in a few hours. Cheetah is going to kill your ass before you can get 26 feet.

Besides, you cut my quote. I did finish with "evolution gave us brains, how about we use them."

Endurance is a component of it but not the only part.  That Cheetah isn't "going to kill your ass before you can get 26 feet" because its one or two Cheetahs operating in a limited fashion as a team potentially versus a much larger group of humans who can exchange information in a complex manner.  That makes us infinitely more dangerous.  As hunters in pre-historic times humans could outlast their prey...in the short many animals could out run us but in the long we would run them down.  We're very much built to be runners...

Individually we're not really that impressive but collectively (and were VERY gregarious) we are.  Don't discount that for a second.

[General Battuta]

So, basically, endurance is 100% a predictor of win? So what if you can run 26 miles in a few hours. Cheetah is going to kill your ass before you can get 26 feet.

Besides, you cut my quote. I did finish with "evolution gave us brains, how about we use them."

Endurance is a component of it but not the only part.  That Cheetah isn't "going to kill your ass before you can get 26 feet" because its one or two Cheetahs operating in a limited fashion as a team potentially versus a much larger group of humans who can exchange information in a complex manner.  That makes us infinitely more dangerous.  As hunters in pre-historic times humans could outlast their prey...in the short many animals could out run us but in the long we would run them down.  We're very much built to be runners...

Individually we're not really that impressive but collectively (and were VERY gregarious) we are.  Don't discount that for a second.

Like she said: "evolution gave us brains, how about we use them."

Sounds like you're agreeing.

[High Max]

;-)

[NGTM-1R]

So, basically, endurance is 100% a predictor of win? So what if you can run 26 miles in a few hours. Cheetah is going to kill your ass before you can get 26 feet.

A lone cheetah is actually going to find it pretty tough to take down an adult human. They're about the size and weight of some larger running dogs, so you probably outmass it by fifty pounds; you have longer reach; cheetah claws are not terribly sharp and it lacks the brute "upper body" strength of most large cats. Unless you run from it, it won't be able to trip you; cheetahs are relatively fragile, being built for speed, and typically won't even bother with a full-body takedown manuver since it puts them at unnecessary risk.

Your only real risk is if you turn your back on it (while on the ground!), in which case it will do the usual cat thing and attempt to crush your spinal cord. (Which I assume it's capable of, but it may not be; cheetahs typically go after very lightly built prey and a human is out of its weight class, as mentioned before.)

I'm strictly here for the Fail Biology Forever bits.

I came up with something. Imagine if a creature could be both warm and cold blooded "could switch on and off its body heat production". If it gets too warm, the creature could turn its body heat down or off and back on again when it gets colder. It would be very adaptable and energy efficient. Just like if a creature could switch its visual modes from visible to infrared at will. Strange that no creature could ever accomplish that.

Congradulations, you've basically described the mechanism of warm-blooded creatures. The simple truth is we do such things all the time; our core body temperature is high as a measure of our ability to react and act quickly. We can, and do, self-regulate by turning off mechanisms that generate extra heat. That's why you aren't shivering all the time. Most of the rest is the natural function of the body and about as integral as breathing; not something controllable.

Also, there ARE things that see infrared. Most snakes are capable of sensing infrared. The common American white-tailed deer sees in black, white...and infrared. The human eye, for that matter, is slightly sensitive to infrared. You can get special sunglasses that block out visual light wavelengths to prove this, if you like.

[High Max]

;-)

[NGTM-1R]

Strange, I always heard we stay around 98.6 degrees. Is that wrong or something? Also, if we can shut off our body heat, why do mammals struggle so much compared to reptiles in hot environments and why can't we slow our metabolism to the point of going weeks without eating or longer like a reptile when exposed to hot climates? Sounds like a hole in that theory, or are we just not as good at it? But I guess it could explain why people from warm countries can tolerate the heat and wear jeans all the time.

Because our bodies are insulated and designed to maintain a 98.7 temp. In a hot environment, you collect heat faster than you can radiate it. (Sweating is designed to improve this process.) Similarly, we can't do that because we do two things: think an awful lot, and quick action. It's a "design tradeoff" if you will.

But there are no creatures that can switch their eyes from things like detailed color to infrared and the abilities like that all being in the same eyes.

Yes, because if you can do both at once then turning one off is stupid.

Also, if my eyes are at all sensitive to infrared, I would be able to see a little bit when it's pitch dark, but I can't. We humans are completely blind when it's pitch dark. Even in a hot room if it is dark with no visible light, I will see absolutely nothing. Is that another hole in a theory or are my eyes just not like normal human's eyes and only a select few can see in pitch dark?

Because it's slight sensitivity. Your eyes are not capable of picking up the heat generated by a warm body. They still require reflected light to function. That's why the sunglasses work; it's bright out.

(Which is amusing; the majority of clothing that is infrared transparent is actually swimwear...most is infrared-absorbent.)

[karajorma]

Also, there ARE things that see infrared. Most snakes are capable of sensing infrared. The common American white-tailed deer sees in black, white...and infrared.

Not to mention that there are species like the Mantis shrimp with a visual range that stretches all the way from ultraviolet to infra-red.

[Liberator]

Not to mention, said shrimp has one of the most powerful weapons in nature.  That damn claw almost qualifies as an energy weapon.