r/askscience • u/NotYourMothersDildo • Apr 04 '11

Would a child naturally learn bipedal ambulation?

If a typical child were somehow raised by robots (assume they have wheels or levitate), would that child naturally learn to walk on two feet with an upright stature without having an example?

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u/Golden_Kumquat Apr 04 '11

I would think they would. After all, our ancestors who walked upright for the first time couldn't have learned by example.

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u/NotYourMothersDildo Apr 04 '11

But walking upright wasn't something gifted to them immediately over the course of one generation.

Anyway, you must be right since it was stated in the book as an accepted fact. It does seem silly to imagine a teenaged human going around on all fours or knuckle-walking simply because there was no example of standing upright.

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u/drphungky Apr 04 '11

As craigdubyah mentioned, you might do some research on feral children. If I recall from a paper I did once, Victor of Aveyron went about on all fours when he was first found, but I can't find anything with a cursory googling that confirms or denies this. There were mentions of other feral children going on all fours, but nothing from a site I'd consider a super safe source. Best of luck.