Researching the implications of downsizing the human species to better fit the earth.
According to a large-scale Mendelian randomization-phenome-wide association study* by the VA Million Veteran Program, height may be an independent risk factor for various common medical conditions. Traditional research into the influence of height on health is often confounded by environmental factors such as nutrition and…
Humanity’s relationship with individuals of shorter stature is deeply complex and frequently marked by systemic discrimination. The Incredible Shrinking Man investigates how these deep-seated prejudices blind us to the inherent benefits of smallness, and explores how we can dismantle them. Across Egypt, Benin, and the…
In 1961, Leonard Hayflick and Paul Moorhead demonstrated that normal human somatic cells possess a finite proliferative lifespan, which is governed not by chronological time but by the cumulative number of cell divisions. To protect critical genetic material from eroding, eukaryotic cells cap the ends…
Despite being mysteriously ignored and displaced by mainstream consumption theories, Duesenberry’s relative income hypothesis is highly relevant to contemporary societies where individuals are increasingly obsessing over growth. What makes it so difficult to overcome this obsession? One challenge seems to have something to do with…
During periods of low sea levels around 500,000 years ago, full-sized straight-tusked elephants (Palaeoloxodon antiquus), which stood roughly 4 meters tall and weighed up to 10 tons, migrated to several Mediterranean islands. The elephants trapped on these islands started shrinking. On the mainland, being very…
Bonsai are an ongoing fascination of The Incredible Shrinking Man. They both show the resilience and beauty of smallness and represent some of the paradoxical aspects of human/nature relationships. Bonsai are creatures that teach us ways forward while reminding us of the delicate relationship between…
Much of human height is determined by the micro-climate in the Epiphyseal plates of the long bones in our legs. They are size-relational wonderlands and the specific climatological conditions within these wonderlands decide if, when, and where, growth happens. The growth plate consist of translucent…
There is an interesting South African proverb that says: Don’t mistake a short man for a boy. This proverb implies that we consider size to be an indication of characteristics that are associated with children (inexperience, lack of strength, naievity, playfulness, innocence, dependence, curiosity, unconditional…
Before Edward Bernays taught people to consume things we don’t need, fashion and it’s ideologies of constant change and replacement already inspired artistic response. La Moda Vuole L’ala Larga (Wide Brimmed Hats are Fashionable, 1912) starring Ernesto Vaser, is an early cinematic and funny critique…
