Ron Mueck

May 18, 2010 By arne hendriks 2

Shrinking the human species will be a complicated matter. Presumably not all people would shrink at the same speed, and older generations would be larger than younger ones. The sculptures of  Australian artist Ron Mueck shed an interesting light on things to come. He creates hyperrealistic sculptures…

22 billion reasons to keep growing

May 17, 2010 By arne hendriks 0

In 2003, the US Federal Drug Administration approved the use of human growth hormone for healthy short children in an attempt to make them taller. There is nothing medically wrong with these children; they produce normal levels of growth hormone on their own. They are…

Insular Gigantism & Dwarfism

May 16, 2010 By arne hendriks 1

On islands, it occurs relatively frequently that large species of animals tend to get smaller and small species tend to get larger. The greater interspecies competition or pressure of carnivores on the continent may actually force them beyond the limits of their optimum size. They…

Shrink Utility Vehicle (SUV)

May 14, 2010 By arne hendriks 0

It is not easy to convince ourselves that we need to shrink. On the contrary, many people seem obsessed with growing taller. Yet, signs of a deeply rooted desire to shrink may already manifest itself in small signs in everyday life. People drive oversized cars,…

History of Height

May 11, 2010 By arne hendriks 0

Anthropometric history explains trends, cycles, and patterns caused by changes in the social, economic and epidemiological environment. In times of hardship people tend to grow smaller. But the reason for this is maybe not as straight forward as it may seem. A smaller person is more…

310 for every Cm

May 10, 2010 By arne hendriks 1

A 2003 University of Florida and University of North Carolina study found that short people are paid less than their taller peers: Each centimetre in height amounted to about $310 more a year in pay. In a similar study conducted in Australia in 2009 by professor…

Prisoners of Size?

May 8, 2010 By arne hendriks 0

In the short article Size and Shape the late paleontologist and evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould remembers how he once overheard a children’s conversation in a New York playground:  “Two young girls were discussing the size of dogs. One asked: “Can a dog be as…

Shrink Film Archive

May 6, 2010 By arne hendriks 0

From the surreal explorations of Pedro Almodóvar in Hable con Elle to the blockbuster entertainment of films like Honey I shrunk the kids, shrinking is and always has been a popular topic for filmmakers. Here’s a list of shrink films. Click the title for previews…

Plant-stress and Size

May 4, 2010 By arne hendriks 1

As with animals, Plants can be dwarfed through genetic engineering and selective breeding, but environmental stresses  such as soil quality, light, drought, flood, cold, infection, and herbivory, can also lead to a dwarfed stature . However the majority of dwarfing in plants does not directly occur…

The Truth About Your Height

May 1, 2010 By arne hendriks 1

Thomas T. Samaras could be considered the scientific godfather of physical shrink-thinking. His 1994 book, The Truth About Your Height. Exploring the Myths and Realities of Human Size and Its Effects on Performance, health, Pollution, and Survival states:  “Short people place fewer demands on the…

From Macro to Micro

April 28, 2010 By arne hendriks 0

As people start shrinking, Earth and everything on it will proportionally, grow in size. This growth of space and resources is actually one of the main reasons to consider shrinking as a sustainable way of inhabiting the earth. At the same time it holds the…

Napoleon Complex Myth

April 27, 2010 By arne hendriks 0

Napoleon complex (also, Napoleon syndrome or Small Man syndrome) is a colloquial pejorative term used to describe a type of inferiority complex which is said to affect people who are short. The term is also used more generally to describe people who are driven by…

Randy’s Short People

April 24, 2010 By arne hendriks 0

If we are to shrink ourselves, overcoming prejudice against smallness will be a first priority. Randy Newman wrote Small People in 1977 as a parody of the absurdity of human prejudice and discrimination. But did it work? Lyrics: Short people got no reason Short people…

Less is More

April 12, 2010 By arne hendriks 0

A considerable downsizing of the human species would create an enormous market for architects and interior designers to make good use of the newly available space.  Not to mention the potential of repurposing roads, parks, canals, squares and so on.

Micro-livestock

April 8, 2010 By arne hendriks 0

Micro-livestock is a term coined for species that are inherently small, such as rabbits and poultry, as well as for breeds of cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs that are less than half the size of the most common breeds. These miniature animals are seldom considered…

Abundance Fantasies: King of Cabbage

April 8, 2010 By arne hendriks 1

In the predominantly Anglo-Saxon culture of growing giant vegetables it is possible to get a taste of what life at 50 cm’s would be like in regards to the food supply. Visit the website of The European Giant Vegetables Grower’s Association for interesting links and…

Microphilia – Shrinking Women

April 5, 2010 By arne hendriks 1

Microphiliacs, or SW’s (Shrinking Women) are people aroused by the (sexual) fantasy of tiny women. Website The Minimizer has some sexual content but is a very rich source of information about this relatively unknown fetishism and its culture. It has many links to movies, films…

The Hobbit of Flores

April 5, 2010 By arne hendriks 2

Homo floresiensis, nicknamed “hobbit”, is an extinct human species discovered in 2003 on the island of Flores in Indonesia. Partial skeletons of nine individuals have been recovered, including one complete skull. This hominin is remarkable for its small body and brain and for its survival…

Bergmann’s Rule

April 4, 2010 By arne hendriks 1

Songbirds in the US are getting smaller, and climate change is suspected as the cause. A study of almost half a million birds, belonging to over 100 species, shows that many are gradually becoming lighter and growing shorter wings. This shrinkage has occurred within just…

ShrinkLit

April 2, 2010 By arne hendriks 1

Literature, both high and low, offers important insights when it comes to our view on size differences. Here’s a list of books, periodically updated and expanded, in which size  plays a key role. Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift (published 1776-7). In this political satire Gulliver meets with…