Christopher Mcdougall's Essay: If Humans Were Born To Run

In “Born to Run” by Christopher McDougall, McDougall makes the argument that humans were “born to run.” In Chapter 28 specifically, he gives us a story of David Carrier and Dr. Bramble, who search for evidence to figure out if human bodies were made to run. Throughout this chapter, we get a detailed story of how questions were asked, tests were done, and answers were found, all to prove his claim that humans were “Born to Run.” McDougall is able to persuasively argue his point through using detailed descriptions of what was done to reach this theory, clearly ordering the events that took place, and using entertaining language. These things are what make “Born to Run” fun to read while still gaining information. To explain why he believes humans were “born to run”, he gives us the story of David Carrier and Dr. Bramble, who set out to find out if human bodies were made to run. Throughout the whole article, McDougall starts from the beginning detailing how Carrier became interested in this theory …show more content…
Throughout the whole chapter, we get a detailed look at what was done by these two men to prove their theory. For example, when discussing what makes us different from “walkers” he talks about the nuchal ligament. He writes, “The nuchal ligament is useful only for stabilizing the head when animal is moving fast; if you're a walker, you don't need one.” (McDougall 2011) He does not just mention he the name of this ligament, he describes what is is and why it is important. He is detailed when he writes the whole part of Lisbenberg going on a hunt with the hunters. He writes, “Whenever the animals darted into an acacia grove, one of the hunters broke from the group and drove the kudu back into the sun… they ran and swerved behind a single kudu...flushing it from the trees whenever it tries to rest.” (McDougall 2011) This type of detailing is persuasive because it gives us a clear picture of the events that took