A Man on a Bicycle Beats a Condor for Efficiency
Steve Jobs used the finding to explain why he saw the computer as a bicycle for the mind.
Curiosity Chronicle · The 2 Types of Knowledge: Real vs. SurfaceA human on a bicycle moves more efficiently than a condor, the most efficient animal traveler on its own.
Steve Jobs, the Apple co-founder, described a study of how much energy different species use to travel a kilometer. The condor, a large soaring bird, used the least. Humans ranked "about a third of the way down the list," what Jobs called "a rather unimpressive showing."
Then, Jobs said, someone at Scientific American tested a man on a bicycle. The rider "blew the condor away, completely off the top of the charts." Jobs called the computer "the equivalent of a bicycle for our minds."
Questions people ask
What exactly did the locomotion study measure?
It measured the energy needed to move one kilometer, comparing species by calories burned for each unit of distance. The condor, which glides long distances on air currents, came in first among animals. Unassisted humans finished well behind, about one third of the way down the rankings.
Why does a bicycle make such a big difference?
A bicycle converts pedaling into forward motion with wheels, gears, and balance, wasting very little energy as heat or impact. Walking requires lifting and stopping the body's weight with each step. The bike lets the same human effort carry a person much farther and faster.
What did Jobs mean by a bicycle for the mind?
He meant that a computer does for thinking what a bicycle does for moving. It does not pedal by itself, but it multiplies the power of the person using it. The same idea now gets applied to artificial intelligence, which still needs a human to steer it.