t-and-f: New thread regarding the Entine book

[Randy Treadway]

While I may have feelings one way or another about the
likelihood that the theories espoused in this book
are correct, what is MUCH MORE intriguing is
the title of the book- TABOO.

If I were just looking over titles in a bookstore,
this title would tell me that the subject of the
book is NOT whether or not there is any relevance
to genetic predetermination theory, but rather what causes
the social phenomenons which result in extreme
pressure on any individual who would even consider
suggesting research into a topic such as this.
Does 'blacklisting' by academia relegate any
researchers in this area to 'political correctness
hell' ?  Does it mean that they can never get 'published'
by academic journals again on ANY topic?

For example, the bashing that Dr. Bannister got
by the so-called 'liberal academia' through the media
a few years ago after his making a 'casual observation'
kind of statement about long/short twitch fibers
relating to East or West African origins, and saying
that it merits more study.

At least we now know that the subject is anything
BUT taboo on this list-   resulting in some of the
longest threads in list history.  Don't know if
that's good or bad, but at least it means list
subscribers are willing to talk about it out in
the open.

A few years ago on the list, when a similar idea
was tossed into the hat for discussion, a bunch
of coaches quickly jumped in and bashed the originator,
saying if there was even an iota of truth in the theory,
which they didn't believe for a second, they couldn't
POSSIBLY share such a reality with any of the athletes
they coach, for fear of them losing all motivation.
They argued that exposure of such facts, even if true,
serves no PRACTICAL purpose but to damage the 'everybody
has a chance' appeal of track  field as a sport.
Therefore, any investment in research into the topic
is not warranted, and should actually be discouraged.
Research funding could be better spent elsewhere, they said.

Does that kind of coach still exist?  Don't coaches
have any other kind of motivational techniques they
can draw on, even if genetic roots theories DO turn
out to be true?
Or is it just an example of ostrich behaviour (sticking
head in a hole in the ground to avoid seeing things
that are scary, which by the way, exposes the posterior
to open attack!)
Is there practical VALUE to our sport of getting the
answers to the genetics questions?  If so, what?
Will the truth set us free?  ..hm...

To me, this kind of examination of the 'Taboo' phenomenon,
with it's political correctness and social bashing
symptoms, is an even MORE interesting topic than the
genetics topic behind it.

What's the best way to get people to open their minds
and THINK in spite of political incorrectness, in
order to get truth out in the open?  WhereEVER the truth
turns out to be...
Jon's approach sometimes seems to be in-the-face
confrontation...or maybe I'm confusing his discussion
technique with the responses he often stimulates...
... is that the best way to get the dialogue on a 'taboo'
topic out in the open?  I'm not sure I know the answer.
It seems to have succeeded in stimulating a lot of
discussion on this list, but how well does that approach
work elsewhere?

RT 

Re: t-and-f: New thread regarding the Entine book

[Randy Treadway]

Don't coaches
have any other kind of motivational techniques they
can draw on, even if genetic roots theories DO turn
out to be true?

One might consider the approach taken by the character
played by Woody Harrelson in the movie White Men Can't
Jump-
even though 'genetically challenged' and unable to dunk,
he was able to use that reality as a reverse-psychology
weapon in defeating his opponents- namely their disbelief and
his capitalizing on their inability to seriously consider him
as a potential threat- his dress and manner (his act) served
to convince his opponents that he couldn't possibly be a
genetic outlier, if they even recognized that such a thing
could exist.
His taunting of them also serving to trigger emotional
responses which reduced the effectiveness of their
superior natural skill set.  Sort of the David versus
Goliath syndrome.
Very humorous to moviegoers, but perhaps also some
relevance to coaches who have to coach 'genetically
challenged' athletes ?...

...this approach might only work when the opponent isn't
particularly intelligent and easily 'baited' 

..Muhammad Ali was very good at this (see the George Foreman
fight, when Ali was probably genetically inferior to Foreman but
had a brilliant psychological game plan- the rope-a-dope) !...

Also: can telling an athlete he's genetically inferior (or inferior in
any other way) to somebody else make that athlete 'hungrier' to
prove something to himself and others?  Hungrier than his/her more gifted
opponent?  So much hungrier as to out-train the more confident opponent?
This approach was also seen in the movie 'Rocky'- running up the Philly
library steps, pounding sides of beef in a freezerbecause he'd always
been told he was 'lower class'...

Taken to an extreme, does the Army drill sergeant technique of yelling
'you're a scumbag, you're dirt!, etc', which seems to work in a lot of
military training environments, also work to any extent in coaching scenarios?
Some football coaches seem to like the technique...
the theory seems to be that drawing out anger or hatred or resentment
toward an intentional single focal point like a drill sergeant or a coach,
serves to get the focus and single-mindedness that is otherwise difficult to
motivate...at the end of boot camp, the challenge for the trainer is to
then succeed in re-directing the focus from the D.I. or Coach to the 'enemy/
opponent'.
I always thought the technique worked better (more positive results) on
people with a low I.Q., people who can't see through what the D.I. is
trying to do...
...I remember another movie with Jan-Michael Vincent as an extremely
intelligent kid, who was totally unaffected by a Marine Corps D.I.'s
textbook approach to boot camp training because he understood the whole
psychology better than the D.I. himself!...
...but perhaps I stray too far from the Taboo topic at hand...

RT