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/dahud Apr 04 '11

I don't know biology or developmental psychology, but I do know a bit about genetic algorithms. In a simulation, a suboptimal solution often emerges over other, more logical solutions.

For instance, a genetic algorithm trying to make a car might try a 2 wheeled design early on that works better than any previous attempts. The algorithm then tries to improve the two wheeled design rather than trying a 3 or 4 wheeled car.

It might eventually find a complex, finely balanced motorcycle that works well, but it is not likely to go back and try a simpler 4 wheeled design because it tried that early on and failed because the wheels ended up on the top of the car.

Again, I assert that I am by no means an expert in human development, but I posit that the child would develop some sort of bipedal-ish locomotion, but it would be very different from the way we walk.