David Armstrong described in his brilliant book A New History of Identity how exercise and specifically posture had been utilised as tools of social engineering in the late 19th century (Armstrong 2002). When we think of a person's attitude today, we often think of it as being about their response to authority, but it was originally a term used to describe a child's standing posture. Towards the end of the 1800s governments throughout Europe and North America grew increasingly concerned about the fitness and strength of its citizens and began to think about ways to discipline children before they became slovenly.  Military-style drilling and massed social calisthenics were encouraged, … [Read more...] about Reading personality into people’s movements