… Book Review: The Surprising Science of Walking. (Hat tip, Tim Davis.)
O’Mara, a professor of experimental brain research at Trinity College in Dublin, writes in straightforward prose, methodically presenting research and studies in support of his thesis that walking has not only been crucial to human evolution but is essential to our health. Studies show that regular walking mobilizes changes in the structure of our brain that can increase volume in the areas associated with learning and memory. He dedicates a chapter to the science behind human navigation and describes how the selective memories of our wanderings are central components of our experiences and ability to make “maps of the world we have experienced.”
Walking has always been my principal form of exercise. I have walked all over Philadelphia, a good chunk of Chicago, and no small part of D.C. I’ve strolled around Berkeley, CA, and remember fond the smell of the eucalyptus trees. And I used to go hiking in upstate PA every summer or fall. Miles and miles and miles.
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