What if game: what if we were 4 meters tall ?

Hello,

I started playing this game in my mind the last few weeks:

What if we were 4 meters tall or 40 cm tall ?

In theory all the world and rules are the same, for some reason humans evolved to be 4 meters tall. I mostly focused on technology.

Advantages:

- TV would have been a lot more complicated as the first ones had small screens by our standards.
- Mobile phones would have been tiny compared to us from the start. An army phone with a dynamo would have been acceptable as a starting point.
- we would have needed a lot more electricity for all devices as they would have to be larger.
- bigger cars, maybe planes would have been invented later.

My point is could there be something that might not have been invented if we were taller?

Example: ARM architecture processors might never have evolved as an Ipad would be an average size mobile phone, only it could be thicker etc.

Architecture would not be the same maybe.
A TV set with it's 500x375 would not have been an acceptable standard, and it would weigh a ton if you scale it up in size.

Would we turn up the same or not ?

Depends on how tall 4 mters or 40 centimeters was, i'm not too familiar with the metric system.

reply to post by ProphecyPhD


1 meter = 3.2808399 feet

But more simple, a bit more than twice the size.

Originally posted by RanDeLv2
My point is could there be something that might not have been invented if we were taller?

pepper spray.

Originally posted by RanDeLv2

What if we were 4 meters tall or 40 cm tall ?

A centimeter is one hundredth of meter and not one tenth.

1 meter = 100 cm therefore 4 meters = 400 cm

For our antiquated Burmese, Liberian and American ATS members who have yet to adopt the metric system, 1 foot (or 12 inches) is about 30 cm therefore 4 meters = 13 feet.

That's what the OP is asking. What if your were over 13 foot tall? i.e. one tall man standing on another tall man's shoulders.

Originally posted by rexusdiablos

Originally posted by RanDeLv2

What if we were 4 meters tall or 40 cm tall ?

A centimeter is one hundredth of meter and not one tenth.

1 meter = 100 cm therefore 4 meters = 400 cm

For our antiquated Burmese, Liberian and American ATS members who have yet to adopt the metric system, 1 foot (or 12 inches) is about 30 cm therefore 4 meters = 13 feet.

That's what the OP is asking. What if your were over 13 foot tall? i.e. one tall man standing on another tall man's shoulders.

edit on 9/8/2011 by rexusdiablos because: (no reason given)

Well i imagine things would be exactly the same (just built bigger).

Originally posted by RanDeLv2
an Ipad would be an average size mobile phone

The technology is called a tablet, not an iPad. iPad is just a brand.

It's the same problem with folk who think iPods are separate from media players and that Apple computers aren't personal computers.

To answer your question, I believe the main differences would be our ergonomic relation to natural objects of landscapes and animals.

For a start, horses would become more like dogs, large dogs like small dogs and small dogs like guinea-pigs.

Visualize everything at half it's current size to properly explore the OP's question.

reply to post by RanDeLv2


ok - just need to state the fact that the human form factor simply will not be a viable template @ 4m tall

now having got that off my chest

assuming all other plants and animals etc and the planet is at " conventional " proportions

some issues off the top of my head : [ in no particular order ]

a reduced level of bridge building - as a human with a large stick can now ford a 2.5m river with ease

reduced levels of dommesticated beasts of burden , a hand cart would out preform a donkey cart

horses would be a childrens " toy "

weaponry - a fit man can now pick up a 15kg rock in one hand - and crush the skull of a adult bengal tiger with a swipe

agriculture / hunter gathering - the increased quantities of food required for a given population are greater than the increased yeild that a 4m humanoid can produce with higher strength , reach and walk speed

orrvile wright would weigh > 500kg - with all the power / wight implicatins for manned flight

reply to post by rexusdiablos


I wanted to create a double thread with both the subjects:

Either 4 meters or 40 cm, so if we were taller or a lot smaller. I decided in the end to create another thread for 40 cm, but only if this one goes well.

I forgot to take the 40 cm part out of the post.

reply to post by rexusdiablos


Thanks for the answer.

I used iPad because we all know, thanks to uncle Apple, how one looks, if i say tablet i have to explain what it is.