Interesting article on athletes

sherpa
Wed, 21 Apr 2010 15:15:52 +0000

Yes, very interesting article. It always has amazed me how, for example, an outfielder can take off running at the crack of the bat and intuitively perform the necessary calculations of time, distance, speed, and angulation to get his glove under the ball as he climbs the outfield wall to make a spectacular catch. Said outfielder may not know how to spell “calculus”, but his mind and body are performing it.

Don’t even get me started about fencing. Epee less so, but sabre and especially foil amaze me at the higher levels. So fast, so much strategic interplay between the competitors. And then the physical precision. For example, a false attack to draw a counterattack, followed by a parry-riposte flick to the shoulder, or even more beautifully, over the shoulder to the middle of the opponent’s back, with both the proper degree of blade whip to land the tip to the back and then the correct pressure delivered at the precise instant to depress the tip. Once one has a basic understanding of the game, to watch it at the higher levels is mindblowing. Some call it physical chess. It doesn’t surprise me that so many good college fencers are physics majors.

It’s probably true with all sports.

It doesn’t surprise me that so many athletes in general are brilliant students.