Bradley Wiggins called marginal gains “a load of rubbish” recently, and while his thoughts were poorly crafted and tainted by the context, it triggered an impassioned defence of the philosophy by Matthew Syed. I’ve always thought the concept trivialized sports science, and was arrogantly dismissive of the realities that there’s really nothing unique about it. As a source of competitive advantage in elite sport, it cannot stand. More on that in this piece.
Archives for March 2017
A thought crossed my mind: Knowledge & confidence, and “feeblemindedness”
Around 100 years ago, the world’s leading scientists got together to discuss “eugenics”, the idea that we could selectively breed “good stock” for the benefit of the human race. This happened openly, with the support of the USA’s judicial system, and looks macabre and horrific in hindsight. It made me wonder about over-confidence, and knowledge, and how experts shouldn’t ever profess absolute certainty, on anything.
Ban the Nike Vaporfly & other carbon fiber devices for future performance credibility
Nike recently unveiled the Vaporfly Elite, the shoe it has been working on to help it break the 2-hour marathon barrier. The shoe incorporates a “spring plate”, and is claimed to have significant performance implications. I think the shoe, and the incorporation of spring-like devices in all shoes, should be banned for future credibility of performance. Here’s why
A thought crossed my mind: Injury prevention research & purpose
Attending the 2017 IOC Sports Injury and Illness Conference, it struck me that injury researchers are far more collaborative than those in performance. I think shared purpose is the reason. Here’s a brief thought on that.