Episode #572: The Horizontal Truth: Why Everything You Know About Movement is Wrong

In this episode of the Crazy Wisdom Podcast, host Stewart Alsop sits down with Neil Bortolus, founder of Esteem Biomechanics and Stewart's personal trainer for the past year and a half, to explore the intersection of functional movement, human biology, and emerging technology. Their conversation ranges from the principles of biomechanics and the evolutionary blueprint of human movement—standing, walking, running, and throwing—to the dangers of modern movement practices that prioritize aesthetics over function, the role of fascia and connective tissue in chronic pain, and why most gym exercises fail to respect our biological needs. They tackle bigger questions about where technology is taking us, from AI and LLMs replacing human cognitive work to transhumanism and whether we're headed toward a cyberpunk dystopia or a solarpunk regenerative future, all while emphasizing the importance of first principles thinking, the need for humans to remain in the loop, and creating environments that promote biological and mental regeneration rather than degeneration. Visit Neil's website at esteembiomechanics.com Timestamps 00:00 Stewart introduces Neil Bortolus, founder of Esteem Biomechanics and his trainer for a year and a half, discussing their interesting conversations about movement and health 05:00 Discussion shifts to negative and positive pressure in the body, how athletes naturally create proper core tension, and the differences between training high-performance athletes versus clients with cerebral palsy or stroke recovery 10:00 Stewart shares his journey through yoga and discovering modern postural yoga's surprising origins in late 1800s British calisthenics mixed with Indian anticolonial movements, questioning why modern movement practices are fundamentally flawed 15:00 Neil explains functional patterns' first principles approach, emphasizing standing walking running and throwing as evolutionary movement patterns that should guide all exercise design 20:00 Conversation explores Brian Johnson's technology-focused longevity experiments versus optimizing natural biological function, questioning whether peak biology or technology interventions lead to better health outcomes 25:00 Neil describes environmental factors like Southern California and Hawaii providing optimal conditions for human health through fresh food, sunlight, and natural grounding environments year-round 30:00 Discussion of solarpunk versus cyberpunk futures, examining how technology could either support biological health or create dependency, with Stewart sharing his Invisalign experience as cautionary tale 35:00 Neil and Stewart analyze education systems, influencer marketing, and Jacques Ellul's concept of technique autonomously taking over human goals and replacing both muscle and mental labor 40:00 Neil questions Stewart's first principles for approaching technology, leading to discussion about using AI to accomplish tasks faster while maintaining human oversight and decision-making authority 45:00 Stewart explains the black box problem with LLMs and neural networks, admitting he's built applications he can't fully understand, questioning whether understanding mechanisms matters if outputs work 50:00 Debate about benevolent AI governance using El Salvador's transformation as analogy, questioning whether society should surrender control to AI systems for farming or other critical infrastructure 55:00 Final discussion on determinism versus free will, alignment problems in AI development, and Neil's concept of regenerative versus degenerative environments for optimal human biological and mental health Key Insights 1. Movement training must be adapted to individual needs and capabilities rather than following a one-size-fits-all approach. Neil explains that working with