Andy: Why do sports scientists exist? Why do we study peak performance? Why do we care about maximum oxygen uptake? Why is nutrition imortant to understand? I just don't get it? Does studying those things mean we should admire their accomplishments less? Ičve been asked many times how an academic can waste time studying the differences between black and white people,Č comments Kathy Myburgh, an exercise physiologist who has turned up measurable differences between black and white long-distance runners. łI said, Well, if youčre a scientist and youčre studying obesity, who do you compare obese people with? You compare them with thin people. But if you are a physiologist and you want to compare your best runners with those not quite as good, you compare the black ones with the white ones, because the blacks clearly are performing better.č On 4/25/01 8:23 AM, "t-and-f-digest" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Date: Wed, 25 Apr 2001 01:41:07 EDT > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Re: t-and-f: ...Kenyan Marathon Dominance, etc. > > - --part1_39.13f75049.2817bd73_boundary > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" > Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > > Jon and anyone else still interested, > > Why is this of importance or even interest? How do your studies > increase our enjoyment of the sport? Why should we care what the genetic > predisposition of Kenyans, East Africans or any other group is? I just don't > get it. Do your theories mean we should admire their accomplishments less? > After all, they're only doing and succeeding at what they were born to do. > Should we pity or despise all others that would be so foolish as to try and > compete with them? Every few months you hurrang the list with your rants, > accuse nearly every one of not understanding and/or not reading your book and > launch a barrage of rebuttals once again covering the same ground. To what > end, just explain how this makes track a better sport. Explain to me how I > will appreciate the marvelous performances I see and hear about each season > even more by buying into your thesis. As long as in the end we are still > talking about human beings, homo sapiens, doing all this great running why > should I care about the genetics! I have never understood the passion with > which you preach this gospel and after the latest round I still don't. > > Andy F -- Jon Entine RuffRun 6178 Grey Rock Rd. Agoura Hills, CA 91301 (818) 991-9803 [FAX] 991-9804 http://www.jonentine.com
