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…
At The Incredible Shrinking Man we are interested in cars as a manifestation of the things we want and are unwilling to let go off. Much as our desire, cars have increased in size. But not in Japan. For decades, the Japanese Kei car class…
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…
Migikata agari is a Japanese phrase that means right shoulder rising. Frequently used at the end of business meetings this rallying call is physically expressed by trusting the right shoulder up. In so doing the shoulderline creates an upward slope, effectively turning the body into…
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…
The ideologies of economic and physical growth are inextricably linked with our food system. The bigger we are, the more we need. Hence the taller person is by default a more prolific consumer. Dairy products stimulate greater height and as such condition the body to…
At the center of The Incredible Shrinking man’s belief that we should and can become smaller is its most obvious component: the body. Human bodies, especially in the west, have become alarmingly tall in a relatively short period of time since the mid 19th century.…
The Incredible Shrinking Man has long been fascinated by Hara Hachi Bu, the practice of eating until only 80% full. This discipline does more than just limit intake; it creates, and honors, a 20% void. This intentional emptiness relates to the Japanese concept of Ma.…