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Abstract

ours on cruise, optimizing for the latter makes all the sense.That said, let’s look at another machine: your body.<h2 id="3bd9">The human body design point</h2>Through millions of years of natural selection, evolution shaped our bodies to operate optimally in the following conditions:<ul><li>Scarce food</li><li>A diet comprised of what could be hunted or gathered</li><li>Long walks (in search of food)</li><li>Short bursts (to not become food)</li></ul>This, to keep our analogy, is our cruise condition — our design point.But we kind of screwed up… Unintentionally of course, but we did.Mere thousands of years ago — yesterday, from an evolutionary perspective — we started to operate in an eternal takeoff phase, very far from our design point:<ul><li>We have an obscene amount of food</li><li>Our diet includes stuff like wheat and milk — in spades</li><li>We sit all day long</li></ul>No wonder our body’s performance now sucks. No wonder we have all sorts of diseases. No wonder we are merely surviving instead of thriving.Don’t get me wrong. Agriculture, for example, was a game changer that allowed many of our ancestors to survive — and, between dying of hung

Options

er and surviving, the choice is clear. By the way, I’m glad tigers are not lurking around anymore.But if you’re reading this, I bet you don’t need to eat copious amounts of wheat and milk to survive. Also, becoming a beast’s dinner is out of the question.So…<h2 id="594c">We can choose</h2>Thank you, dear ancestors, for having chosen to survive, otherwise I wouldn’t be here.But here I am, happy to be able to choose between surviving and thriving.I can choose to operate far from my design point, having ice cream and donuts while binge-watching series after series after series. This will, as you now know, result in poor machine performance. Disease, obesity, lack of energy, you name it. This is surviving.Or…I can choose to operate close to my body’s design point, exercising daily and eating adequate quantities of stuff like broccoli, sweet potatoes, and eggs. What will I get? A healthy, lean, energized body. This is thriving.Now, it’s up to you. Choose.But remember: a machine delivers optimum performance when operating at its design point.Trust me, I’m an engineer! 😉</article></body>

Your Body is a Machine, I’m an Engineer, and You’re Lucky to Find This Article

Yes, because I’ll show you an analogy you’ll never forget.

Image by the author, made in collaboration with DALL·E 3

An airplane engine does a crappy job during takeoff.

Due to the low flight speed and altitude, the engine compressor fights an uphill battle. The need for tremendous power floods the combustion chamber with fuel, which is not burned as clean as it could. The turbine suffers from the high temperatures. In short, the engine struggles.

But —

At 30 thousand feet and 900 km/h, what a difference! In the cruise phase, every engine part — compressor, combustion chamber, turbine — is working at its best. It is a beautiful symphony.

In engineering jargon, we say the engine, when in cruise, is operating at its design point — a set of conditions where a machine delivers optimum performance.

The further from the design point, the worse the performance. And, since an airplane spends minutes on takeoff and hours on cruise, optimizing for the latter makes all the sense.

That said, let’s look at another machine: your body.

The human body design point

Through millions of years of natural selection, evolution shaped our bodies to operate optimally in the following conditions:

Scarce food
A diet comprised of what could be hunted or gathered
Long walks (in search of food)
Short bursts (to not become food)

This, to keep our analogy, is our cruise condition — our design point.

But we kind of screwed up… Unintentionally of course, but we did.

Mere thousands of years ago — yesterday, from an evolutionary perspective — we started to operate in an eternal takeoff phase, very far from our design point:

We have an obscene amount of food
Our diet includes stuff like wheat and milk — in spades
We sit all day long

No wonder our body’s performance now sucks. No wonder we have all sorts of diseases. No wonder we are merely surviving instead of thriving.

Don’t get me wrong. Agriculture, for example, was a game changer that allowed many of our ancestors to survive — and, between dying of hunger and surviving, the choice is clear. By the way, I’m glad tigers are not lurking around anymore.

But if you’re reading this, I bet you don’t need to eat copious amounts of wheat and milk to survive. Also, becoming a beast’s dinner is out of the question.

So…

We can choose

Thank you, dear ancestors, for having chosen to survive, otherwise I wouldn’t be here.

But here I am, happy to be able to choose between surviving and thriving.

I can choose to operate far from my design point, having ice cream and donuts while binge-watching series after series after series. This will, as you now know, result in poor machine performance. Disease, obesity, lack of energy, you name it. This is surviving.

Or…

I can choose to operate close to my body’s design point, exercising daily and eating adequate quantities of stuff like broccoli, sweet potatoes, and eggs. What will I get? A healthy, lean, energized body. This is thriving.

Now, it’s up to you. Choose.

But remember: a machine delivers optimum performance when operating at its design point.

Trust me, I’m an engineer! 😉