Ape index, or ape factor, or gorilla index is a measure of the ratio of an individual's arm span relative to their height. A typical ratio is 1, as identified by the Roman writer, architect and engineer Vitruvius prior to 15 BC. Vitruvius noted that a "well made man" has an arm span equal to his or her height, as exemplified in Leonardo da Vinci's drawing, the "Vitruvian Man". In rock climbing it is believed that a positive Ape Index, (a value greater than 1), where the arm span is greater than the height, provides for a competitive advantage, and some climbers have expressed the belief that exercise can result in an improved ratio.
Read more about Ape Index: Computation, Statistical Significance in Rock Climbing, Other Sports
Famous quotes containing the words ape and/or index:
“You have made your way from worm to man, and much in you is still worm. Once you were apes, and even now man is still more ape than any ape.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“Exile as a mode of genius no longer exists; in place of Joyce we have the fragments of work appearing in Index on Censorship.”
—Nadine Gordimer (b. 1923)