Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!menudo.uh.edu!sugar!ficc!peter From: peter@ficc.ferranti.com (peter da silva) Newsgroups: comp.arch Subject: Re: small instructions Message-ID: <4V=BO6D@xds13.ferranti.com> Date: 18 Jun 91 18:59:39 GMT References: <13395@pt.cs.cmu.edu> <195@armltd.uucp> <25734@lanl.gov> Distribution: comp Organization: Ferranti International Controls Corporation Lines: 20 In article <25734@lanl.gov>, jlg@cochiti.lanl.gov (Jim Giles) writes: > The kangaroo was designed by committee (like the platypus and several > other species from down under. I disagree strongly. The kangaroo is a very efficient design, and uses far less energy in motion than any other biped and most quadrupeds. On each bounce, kinetic energy is converted to mechanical energy in the muscles of the kangaroo's legs, and then back to kinetic energy with a little extra chemical energy to make up for losses. I know that a human on a bicycle is more efficient. I don't know of anything else that does as good a job, but I don't recall the article offhand. I think it was in an old Scientific American... Now the Kangaroo's reproductive system is a bit of a kludge, but that's not what's being discussed here. An analogy would be (as I implied) a small RISC processor with a large cache... -- Peter da Silva; Ferranti International Controls Corporation; +1 713 274 5180; Sugar Land, TX 77487-5012; `-_-' "Have you hugged your wolf, today?"