I'm watching a show on TLC about a little boy who has some kind of genetic problem that leads to him having a lot of muscle and very little fat. He could do a chin-up when he was 18 months old. He likes swimming and he's pretty good at it, and they're comparing him to Michael Phelps. The narrator noted that Michael Phelps has some genetic abnormalities, and that his body produces a lot less lactic acid than normal, and asked, "Are his records due to his physiological advantages over his competitors?"
Um, yes? I kind of thought that was the point of sports -- the person who is best physically wins, and some people are naturally better physically than other people, so those people are more likely to win.
Well, obviously he waits until they're not in it.
Ya hope.
"Are his records due to his physiological advantages over his competitors?"
Usain Bolt is obviously a freak of nature, and the guy who bests him will be freakier. It seems obvious.
Well, some people think that the "desire to win" plays a major roll - like, if you try harder than everyone else, you'll win. I mean, there are people who place way too much importance on this....
Interesting. This kid is three years old, and they just gave him a mini football and told him to throw it, and he had close to perfect throwing form without anyone telling him how to do it. I think that most kids I've seen that age tend to step forward with the leg on the same side of the body as their throwing arm, if they step at all.
Well, some people think that the "desire to win" plays a major roll - like, if you try harder than everyone else, you'll win.
Well, there's desire to win, or competitive spirit or whatever. And there's the drive to take what you're given and put in the hard work of training to do it. But it's ridiculous to pretend that those two on their own will get you there. (Or that if you're born with the freaky talent, the drive and training probably come easier as well.)
Hey, if you unfriend someone on Facebook, do they get notified?
(no one here--someone from my home town, who turns out to be a jackass politically)
No, they don't. Unfriend away!
This seems unfair. They're testing this kid on a bunch of standard strength tests, but the standards for the tests start at age 6, and he's only 3. So they're telling what percentile he falls in for six-year-olds, but also have another three-year-old boy there doing the same tests as a control. The other three-year-old can't even do some of them, like chin-ups and sit-ups, and it just seems unfair to put him next to this super-strong kid for comparison.
