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Dear subscribers,
I agree with At Hof about the importance and usefulness of some simple
models, especially when you know how to exploit them for finding general
rules, principles... In the ISB Congress in Calgary I discovered that
Alexander was a genius in doing that (he presented a keynote there).
Personally, I have learned a lot about the technique of a gymnastic
exercise, the double leg circles at the pommel horse, playing with a
relatively simple model as well.
I believe that this kind of simple math simulation has got little to do
with the problem of myoskeletal inverse dynamics (that's why I changed the
subject heading), but this is how we can study "motor strategies", or grasp
the "qualitative mechanics" of human motion. These math models are virtually
omnipotent. What's more important, they always relentlessly and exactly
perform what you want. Contrary to models used for inverse dynamics, they
are not used to mimic real motions, but to find out what happens when you
change them. That's why the information gathered by playing with them is
extremely useful for teaching sports techniques. It guides you when you give
advices to athletes, and allows you to shorten and make easier their
learning.
Obviously, more complex models are needed if your purpose is inverse
dynamics. These models are more useful for clinical purposes, for
understanding loads on anatomical structures, assessing functional status,
preventing injuries... This kind of approach can be classified within the
domain of "quantitative" mechanics. The above described application of math
models is a completely different one, where approximation is not a problem
and adverbs like "slightly", "fairly", "markedly" are often all what we need
to
know.
Sometimes we are so busy in refining numerical methods and protocols
that we even neglect to apply and fully exploit them to provide
comprehensive answers. Similarly, we often underestimate the complexity and
importance of qualitative mechanics. That's why I believe it was not a bad
idea to spend some more words for promoting this fascinating research vein:
I am convinced it's still a rich one.
With my kindest regards,
Paolo de LEVA
University Institute of Motor Sciences
Sport Biomechanics
P. Lauro De Bosis, 6
00194 ROME - ITALY
Telephone: (39) 06.367.33.522
FAX: (39) 06.367.33.517
FAX: (39) 06.36.00.31.99
Home:
Tel./FAX/AM: (39) 06.336.10.218
---------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe send SIGNOFF BIOMCH-L to LISTSERV@nic.surfnet.nl
For information and archives: http://isb.ri.ccf.org/biomch-l
---------------------------------------------------------------
I agree with At Hof about the importance and usefulness of some simple
models, especially when you know how to exploit them for finding general
rules, principles... In the ISB Congress in Calgary I discovered that
Alexander was a genius in doing that (he presented a keynote there).
Personally, I have learned a lot about the technique of a gymnastic
exercise, the double leg circles at the pommel horse, playing with a
relatively simple model as well.
I believe that this kind of simple math simulation has got little to do
with the problem of myoskeletal inverse dynamics (that's why I changed the
subject heading), but this is how we can study "motor strategies", or grasp
the "qualitative mechanics" of human motion. These math models are virtually
omnipotent. What's more important, they always relentlessly and exactly
perform what you want. Contrary to models used for inverse dynamics, they
are not used to mimic real motions, but to find out what happens when you
change them. That's why the information gathered by playing with them is
extremely useful for teaching sports techniques. It guides you when you give
advices to athletes, and allows you to shorten and make easier their
learning.
Obviously, more complex models are needed if your purpose is inverse
dynamics. These models are more useful for clinical purposes, for
understanding loads on anatomical structures, assessing functional status,
preventing injuries... This kind of approach can be classified within the
domain of "quantitative" mechanics. The above described application of math
models is a completely different one, where approximation is not a problem
and adverbs like "slightly", "fairly", "markedly" are often all what we need
to
know.
Sometimes we are so busy in refining numerical methods and protocols
that we even neglect to apply and fully exploit them to provide
comprehensive answers. Similarly, we often underestimate the complexity and
importance of qualitative mechanics. That's why I believe it was not a bad
idea to spend some more words for promoting this fascinating research vein:
I am convinced it's still a rich one.
With my kindest regards,
Paolo de LEVA
University Institute of Motor Sciences
Sport Biomechanics
P. Lauro De Bosis, 6
00194 ROME - ITALY
Telephone: (39) 06.367.33.522
FAX: (39) 06.367.33.517
FAX: (39) 06.36.00.31.99
Home:
Tel./FAX/AM: (39) 06.336.10.218
---------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe send SIGNOFF BIOMCH-L to LISTSERV@nic.surfnet.nl
For information and archives: http://isb.ri.ccf.org/biomch-l
---------------------------------------------------------------