If you took the most talented horse trainer in the history of the world, and paired him with the most trainable horse in the history of the world, how long do you think it would take to teach that horse to dive down 70 feet deep in the ocean?
Obviously, that’s impossible.
Because horses aren’t built for diving.
They’re built for running.
But what about a human?
Well, the average human can learn to freedive to 70 feet (20 meters) in just a day or two.
DISCLAIMER: I’m talking about horses freediving, not this type of horse diving:
In the book Born to Run, the author hypothesizes that humans evolved to be able to run incredibly long distances. And he proves that humans are, in fact, the best long distance runners in the animal kingdom.
BUT
What about an average human, in the modern world?
Well, according to chatGPT, it takes a beginner runner around 5-6 months of training to be able to complete a marathon.
See where I’m going with this?
To be clear, I’m not a scientist. I’m not even a college graduate. And to say that I’m biased would be an understatement considering I literally created Aquatic Apes, the brand. But it’s still fun to think about, so let’s continue 🙃
I’m not saying that humans didn’t evolve to run long distances and instead evolved to freedive. I’m saying, does it have to be one or the other?
Intermediate freedivers can easily reach depths of 100-200 feet (30-60 meters).
Advanced freedivers can dive up to 446 feet deep (136 meters).
For instance, this guy’s name is Alexey Molchanov.
He’s the deepest freediver in the world:
(He also wrote all of our freediving course materials that we teach to our students here in Bali. )
Think about the most stereotypical place that the average human chooses to spend their vacations - the beach.
Think about the most expensive real estate properties in the world - places with ocean views.
Think about the most talented musicians in the history of the world - The Beach Boys.
Just kidding about that last one, but my point is:
Humans are obsessed with the ocean.
There’s a great book called Blue Mind, which, in the author’s words, explores scientific studies “that show how being near, in, on, or under water can make you happier, healthier, more connected, and better at what you do.”
Basically, it is objectively true that most people are happiest when they’re around large bodies of water:
MOVING ON
Did you know that multiple blind people have taught themselves how to echolocate?
There’s even a blind guy in America, Daniel Kish, who’s literal career is to teach other blind people how to echolocate like he does.
0.5% of the Earth’s population is blind.
Did all of humanity evolve to be able to echolocate just in case you’re part of that tiny percentile? Or is it an ability that’s left over from our distant past that’s coincidentally super convenient for blind people in the modern world?
What other mammals can you think of that use echolocation?
Well, there’s actually a reason that aquatic mammals like dolphins & whales tend to have evolved to use echolocation, rather than terrestrial ones, like horses: sound travels much farther & faster through water than through air.
Anecdotally, I’ve also heard experienced spearfishermen, who primarily dive in areas with bad visibility, talk about how they can hear the fish before seeing them.
SO, FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY, I’M SELLING THE WORLD’S FIRST EVER SPEARFISHING ECHOLOCATION ONLINE COURSE- ACT NOW WHILE SUPPLIES LAST.
Just kidding.
And again, I’m no scientist and have absolutely no idea what I’m talking about. I can’t stress this enough. It’s just cool to think about. Also the general idea resonates with me personally, because I love spending time in the ocean. And if you’re reading this, chances are you do too 🤙
ANYWAYS
All humans are also naturally able to see clearly underwater, without goggles.
But only if they start opening their eyes underwater at a young age. If you don’t use it, you lose it. There have been studies on this - it has to do with how your pupils dilate.
Here’s a video of a tribe of sea nomads in Thailand who can still do it today:
Imagine a person who can freedive hundreds of feet deep, see underwater without goggles, and echolocate….it’s physically possible…
To be fair, when compared to dolphins, whales & orcas - humans are terrible divers. But when you compare us to other semi-aquatic mammals - like beavers, otters & many species of seals - our depths aren’t really that different.
Another great book I highly recommend is called Deep, by James Nestor. This is the first piece of freediving content that I ever consumed and it’s what got me into the sport originally. Although nothing in his book is controversial, it’s incredibly interesting. And inspiring.
HOWEVER, if you want to do want to dive into the evolutionary-conspiracy-theory-rabbit-hole, please continue reading below:
The name “Aquatic Apes” comes from an evolutionary theory called “The Aquatic Ape Hypothesis.”
Basically, decades ago, some evolutionary scientists wondered why, out of all of the Great Apes, humans are the only hairless ones……other than Tony Soprano.
Humans also have the largest penis’ & the most subcutaneous fat out of all the Great Apes. These traits are all similar to other mammals that spend lots of time in water - (ie. hippos are great swimmers and are hairless, while bison are not).
Another piece of evidence is the fact that humans are the only primates that prefer to walk on two legs, rather than four.
With one notable exception - when other primates are walking through water, virtually all of them become bipedal:
Maybe our ancestors evolved to walk on two legs because of all that time they spent wading through water foraging for food…
There are a bunch of other human traits that point to the idea that, at some point in our evolutionary history, we were semi-aquatic.
Sort of like the opposite of a seal or walrus - who spend most of their time in water, and some of their time on land. We, supposedly, did it the other way around.
It would also help to explain the obsession with the ocean that most of us are born with.
Laird Hamilton summed it up more eloquently than I ever could:
“There’s not a person alive who wouldn’t love standing on a board and riding a wave.”
BUT, have I mentioned that I’m not a scientist? I’d recommend reading the book, The Aquatic Ape Hypothesis, for a more detailed & less clumsy description than I’m able to give to you here.
Or, watch this TED talk from the author, Elaine Morgan, for a more general idea:
It’s worth noting that most institutional evolutionary scientists tend not to agree with Elaine Morgan.
But it’s also worth noting that if they were to agree with her, they’d also be agreeing that all of the years and money spent on their education would have been a farce.
Anyways, one person who did agree with her, was Sir David Attenbourough.
He even did a BBC radio series on the idea back in the day.
BUT, he was ridiculed by purveyors of “conventional wisdom” and, ultimately, pressured to take it down.
Luckily though, someone uploaded it to YouTube illegally, and I found it 🙂
Wait actually I found another version of the program on the BBC website.
Personally, I don’t think it’s that controversial to say that humans were (are?) semi aquatic. I spend a huge chunk of my time in the ocean. Most of my friends do as well. Why does it need to be more complicated than that?
Imagine a superiorly intelligent alien, looking down on Earth & studying humans, in the same way that we study chimps:
Those aliens would see that most of humanity lives very close to large bodies of water. They would see millions of us, every single day, doing stuff in the water: freediving, fishing, surfing, sailing, kayaking, swimming, scuba diving, jet skiing, foil boarding and water skiing.
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a semi aquatic animal is one that is “frequenting but not living wholly in water.”
How could those aliens think that humans are anything but semi-aquatic mammals?
ANYWAYS
Regardless of whether or not any of these evolutionary theories are true, one thing is for sure:
Every human on earth is naturally able to freedive extremely deep.
The only thing stopping those who don’t, is their mind, not their physical body.….and maybe the fact that they live in big cities and spend 85% of their waking hours in cubicles.
Since 1977, over 70 orcas have been born into captivity in places like Seaworld.
Because they’re not in their natural environment, these orcas have never dove anywhere near 100 feet deep either.
But you can be sure that they can.
And you can be sure that they would fucking love it.
