[looping8]

It also feels a little strange in writing. Examples:

"Figure Figure11 shows a mountain gorilla lying on the ground on his side without a pillow" - Of course it is without a pillow, it's a mountain gorilla! What is this clarification?

"To start with, some Westerners have to hold on to a doorframe." - Would it not be better to say "you may have to hold on" or "newbies"? It is not like Westerners have some special physiological feature that makes them do it, it's about lack of practice.

[adrian_b]

I have read your comment before reading the article, and at that time I have thought that you must be right.

Nevertheless, after reading the article I have seen that the clarification about the gorilla sleeping without a pillow made perfect sense in its context, because it has not been added to provide any additional information, but it was added for emphasis, in a context where the sleeping positions in modern environments were contrasted with their correspondents that are common both in non-modernized environments and for similar primates.

Moreover, I interpret his phrase "To start with" as having the same meaning as your suggestion "newbies".

Using a door frame in the beginning is indeed good practical advice for achieving the full squat position for those who are not used to it.

[watwut]

It did not made sense to me, because I am not a gorilla. They have different bodies. They look kinda similar in body shape, but they climb treat the way I will never be able to no matter how much I train.

So, gorila sleeping position implies exactly nothing for my sleeping position.

[kijin]

A pillow doesn't need to be a factory-made product that you buy at a store. Plenty of humans make pillows out of natural objects when sleeping outdoors. I can totally imagine a mountain gorilla using a chunk of wood, or even a body part of another gorilla, as a "pillow" if it makes them feel more comfortable.

[navane]

My dog loves pillows. But he doesn't move them. If he's laying down, and a pillow-like object is near, he'll use it. But if the sun moves, he'll move, without the pillow.

[ErigmolCt]

In order to protect skin on your face from acne or wrinkles I think it preferable to sleep on a pillow

[helboi4]

Yeah im sure there are many tribespeople with pillows. It feels wierdly racist that this guy is acting like people in societies like this just live instinctually like gorillas and don't actually have the universal human trait of creating and relying on manmade tools.

[thaumasiotes]

> Of course it is without a pillow, it's a mountain gorilla!

That doesn't follow at all. Gorillas are well known for their habit of making nests. Making pillows isn't difficult.

[elric]

Indeed. Many animals build nests. It's not a skill unique to humans at all. Finding something comfortable to rest on isn't a particularly difficult skill to master.

[olalonde]

I'm a human and I don't think I'd be able to make a (comfortable) pillow...

[jacobolus]

> It is not like Westerners have some special physiological feature that makes them do it, it's about lack of practice.

Lack of practice causes a "special physiological feature": ankle inflexibility. For some people it would take a significant amount of time stretching the ankles every day to recover enough ankle flexibility to squat, and that could perhaps still be insufficient, as joint mobility is established based on the range of motion used in childhood.

[techcode]

All the babies/toddlers I've seen (my own kids included) naturally do that "asian/slav squat" - for example to pick up toys from the ground, or when they want to rest a bit without completely sitting, right?

So at which point/age do some of us stop doing that type of squat before "use it or lose it" kicks in?

[helboi4]

Funnily, as a brit, I have always had the ability to sit in a deep squat comfortably and it's not even from tons of practice. I only even realised that its unusual to be able to do and that it may be good for you when I was about 21. By which point there were many people who couldn't do it already. I certainly hadn't been practicing it throughout my teenage years.

[frereubu]

I'm a Brit who can squat too, and I think it has quite a bit to do with not weather shoes at home and wearing "barefoot" shoes / zero-drop trainers outside. I have a hunch that it's lengthened my calf muscles and achilles tendons, which makes squatting much more comfortable. I couldn't really do it before switching to barefoot shoes.