Why can humans swim? (layman question)

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adaptation said:
Human babies can swim. Generally if an animal can do something without learning how to do it, we call that an instinct. Instincts come from evolution. So does it not stand to reason that swimming, an instinct, evolved in humans?

Baby swimming:
http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/1940-01122-001
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en...dNwHFrjAuFyYWfx3ok#v=onepage&q=reflex&f=false


Your second reference specifically mentions reflexes. Like I have said, the existence of reflexes doesn't mean a natural affinity for swimming. The fact that we shiver in response to cold doesn't imply that our natural habitat is supposed to be far north.

Your first reference tells that voluntary swimming movements are only observed in babies more than two years old. Prior to that, all we have are reflex actions. However I would still like to have a look at the entire paper.

adaptation said:
You can google hundreds of baby swim programs in your area, thousands of videos of babies swimming, and millions of anecdotes on the subject.

I do not deny that babies can swim. What I find hard to believe is babies swimming without any training at all.

adaptation said:
This does not mean that humans naturally swim well...If a human is in the water, it will attempt to swim. This is instinct. In both cases, however, if the animal in question has not honed its skill in hunting/swimming, the end result is likely death.

Precisely my point.
 
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Human babies cannot swim, it is something called a "dive reflex". This "dive reflex" is also responsible for infant deaths.

Until around 6 months, babies placed in water tummy-side down will move their arms and legs in a swimming motion. When the swimming reflex and the dive reflex are both engaged, a baby can look like a natural swimmer.

Cautions about babies in water

"These reflexes don't mean the baby can swim, though," says Wagener. What's more, they don't protect a baby from drowning. (In addition to the risk of drowning, it's dangerous for an infant to swallow large amounts of pool water.)

http://www.babycenter.com/404_is-it...born-with-the-ability-to-swim-and_10313062.bc

Sudden infant death triggered by dive reflex

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1770553/
 
hmmm... to be perfectly honest, I think there is more than just ONE answer to this question. I think it has just as much to do with biology and sociology... I don't think there is just ONE answer :wink: