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Unconscious Bias in Walking

Abstract

THE thought has occurred to me that “unconscious bias in walking” may be the result of inequality in the length of the lower limbs caused by the manner in which young children are carried. Each person appears to nurse solely on one arm; I think the right is more frequently employed. I have noticed when a child is held in the arm the side which is nearer the nurse appears to be in a somewhat cramped and unnatural position, the leg more or less bent, while the outer side is comparatively straight and free. Would not this, while preventing the full play of the muscles of the inner leg, tend to arrest to some extent its proper development at a time when growth is very rapid, and thus cause that difference in the length and strength of the limbs remarked by your correspondents?

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OWEN, S. Unconscious Bias in Walking. Nature 29, 336–337 (1884). https://doi.org/10.1038/029336f0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/029336f0

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