The artist Leonardo da
Vinci, perhaps best
known for painting the
Mona Lisa, produced An Imperfect Man
is as long as what you would expect
to see in a man who is 6 feet 8 inches
tall. His legs are the length typical of
a man who is 5 feet 10 inches. Phelps
has long arms too. Like the Vitruvian
Man, most people have a wingspan
roughly the same as their height.
Phelps’ wingspan is 6 feet 7 inches,
three inches longer than his height.
His ankles are (reportedly) double
jointed, and thus extremely flexible.
And his feet are big—he wears size 14
shoes. So Phelps’ legs act like flippers
when he swims.
No one could argue that Phelps
has a perfect body in da Vinci’s
sense. But is it correct to say
it is imperfect? What does
“perfection” mean when we are
talking about human biology?
Does it even exist?
Consider Michael Phelps. The
winningest swimmer of all time,
Phelps earned 28 Olympic medals. His
body does not look like the Vitruvian
Man. In fact, Phelps’ body is quite
unusual. The best swimmers tend
to have long torsos and short legs.
Phelps is 6 feet 4 inches, but his torso
What Is Physical
Perfection?
the animal kingdom. Imagine a
population of brown rabbits and
white rabbits in a snowy field. Under
these conditions, predators are less
likely to see and catch the white
rabbits. In a summertime field—all
brown soil and green and golden
plants—white rabbits are more
visible and easier to catch. Neither
white nor brown fur is perfect for
rabbit survival. Rabbits need different
Maybe perfection has more
to do with how a body works
than how it looks. How we
function actually depends
upon how well we fit into our
environment.
Here’s an example from
T
he artist Leonardo da
Vinci, perhaps best
known for painting the
Mona Lisa, produced
a drawing called the
Vitruvian Man. In it, da Vinci
depicted his idea of the perfectly
sized and proportioned male
body. But is this really what a
perfect body looks like? And
if it’s perfect, does that make
every other type of body flawed?
Or maybe those are the wrong
questions and the idea of a
“perfect” body is actually
what’s flawed.
Do you think
we stand out?
39
Swimmer Michael mer Michael
Phelps holds the elps holds the
record for most
Olympic medals
—in any sport. any sport.
text © 2020 by Donna Bozzone
prevent people from
reproducing, though.
Amazingly, most of
us function extremely
well despite these
flaws. Some of us
function spectacularly.
People have plenty. Here are just a few
imperfections in the human body. Our
knees are less flexible than some of
our other joints, which makes injury
common. Unlike most other animals,
we cannot make vitamin C and need
to make sure we get it in our diets.
And our jaws are too small to easily
fit all our teeth, which is why wisdom
teeth usually need to be removed.
All our odd parts and functional
compromises exist because evolution
builds on what came before. Our
ancestors walked on four legs, not
two. Our knees are a compromise that
allow us to be bipedal. More recent
ancestors of humans lost the ability
to make vitamin C, but we figured
out a way to solve this problem with
a change in diet. Humans’ primate
ancestors grew bigger jaws than we
do, because they ate tougher foods.
Now our teeth are crowded. None of
these flaws are so serious that they
Variation as
an Element
of Success
Michael Phelps’
body is not perfectly
symmetrical or
balanced. His physical
variations, however,
may have given him
the raw materials to
be a close-to-perfect
swimmer. Phelps’ case is not unique;
elite athletes highlight dramatic
variability that provides them the
physical characteristics to approach
perfection in action. Usain Bolt, an
Olympic sprinter, has an abundance
of fast-twitch muscle fibers that make
him speedy and legs so long that it
takes him four to five fewer steps to
complete a 100-meter race than his
competitors.
Simone Biles, another Olympic gold
medalist, is both strong and small.
The combination is ideal for her sport
of gymnastics. She may also have a
better-than-average ability to sense
where her body is in space, perhaps
making jumps, spins, and somersaults
a tad easier than for an average person.
No athlete is born with the skills
to win gold medals, though. Those
achievements require years of effort.
Using Variation to
Your Advantage
40
bodies for different seasons. And
in fact, in some types of rabbits, fur
color changes with the seasons. Like
rabbits, all organisms, including
people, adapt to their environments.
The process of evolution selects for
the survival of organisms that thrive
in their specific environments. But
evolution isn’t engineering. Often,
imperfections that don’t affect
survival too badly get passed on
through the generations.
Odd Parts and Compromises
our survival. Human variation has
allowed us to live in wildly different
environments—the tropics, deserts,
and the Arctic—and to develop
many different physical, intellectual,
and emotional talents. Not only is
there no ideal human body, but our
species also thrives because we are
different from one another, each of us
particularly suited for our own way
of living.
How might Michael Phelps,
Usain Bolt, and Simone Biles define
perfection? Perhaps they might say
that perfection, or close to it, occurs
in peak athletic performance. Their
physical traits certainly helped them
excel at their sports. However, it was
hard work, dedication, and training
that allowed them to soar.
How do you define perfection?
Maybe something about you
seems different. Can you combine
your unique physical, mental, and
emotional skills and your attitude in
a way that works toward your version
Da Vinci’s drawing of the Vitruvian Man of perfection?
combined mathematics and art. To
da Vinci, the Vitruvian Man depicted
ideal proportions. It was his image of
the perfectly formed man. Da Vinci is a
time-honored artist, but is there really
such thing as a perfect body?
No.
In biology, there is no such thing
as one ideal body. In fact, variation in
all living things, including us, is the
rule. This variation is essential for
Donna Bozzone is a 5-foot-2 biology
professor and author of books about science.
Thanks to her height, she can fit comfortably
in small places such as the seats in an
airplane and rarely hits her head on
low-hanging things. Because she is left�handed, she would have advantages boxing,
baseball, cricket, and tennis compared to
right-handed people, if she played any of
a drawing called the
Vitruvian Man. In it, da Vinci
depicted his idea of the perfectly
sized and proportioned male
body. But is this really what a
perfect body looks like? And
if it’s perfect, does that make
every other type of body flawed?
Or maybe those are the wrong
questions and the idea of a
“perfect” body is actually
what’s flawed.
Write a paragraph about what the text structure might be in this text
The text structure of this passage appears to be an informative or expository structure. The author provides information and explanations about the concept of physical perfection, using examples and evidence to support their points. The passage includes descriptions, comparisons, and examples of different bodies and physical traits to explore the idea of perfection in human biology.
And answer these in the paragraph
Explain how you identified the text structure.
And tell how the authors choice of structure help you as a reader.
I identified the text structure as informative or expository based on the way the author presents information and explanations about the concept of physical perfection. The author provides a clear introduction and poses questions to engage the reader's curiosity. Then, they proceed to present various examples and evidence to support their points and explore different perspectives on the topic. The author uses comparisons, descriptions, and real-life examples of athletes like Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt, and Simone Biles to illustrate the complexities of physical perfection.
The author's choice of an informative/expository structure helps me as a reader by providing a clear and organized presentation of information. The text flows logically from one idea to another, making it easier to follow and comprehend. The use of examples and evidence helps to support the author's arguments and make the content more engaging. Additionally, the questions posed at the beginning of the passage and the exploration of different perspectives on physical perfection encourage critical thinking and reflection. Overall, the text structure helps to present the information in a clear, concise, and thought-provoking manner.