TED presentation David Epstein

1. Jarno Noteboom English 2B 2MA01
David Epstein:Are athletesreallygetting faster,better,stronger?
I foundthispresentationanditinterestedme immediately.Whyisthat? It’sbecause Ihave asked
alreadyreallyoftenonmydadif Messi and Ronaldoare bettersoccerplayersthanearlierwith
Maradonna and Pélé,…
Thispresentationgoesaboutthatathletesbecame faster,strongerandcanjumphigher.Davidgives
us several examplesthatare reallyamazingtohear andI will write afew examplesdown.
Marathon run: in1904 ( 3h28min53sec)  in2012 (2u08min61sec)
Firstman whorun 1 mile under4 min. now college kidsdothateveryyear.
But what’shappened?it’sa combinationof technology,differentmindsetandgene changings.
In the firstplace,50years ago,theyrun on cinder,that’sashfrom burnedwood.Itsteelsmore
energythanrunningona special fabricatedcarpetwhichtheyuse now,sothat’sone elementwhy
theyare runningfasternow.
secondlythe peopleare more intelligentnow.Inthe swimmingsector,people alsoare fasterthan
yearsago because of certainelements.In1956 the flip turnwas introduced( a turn where youflip
underthe waterto turn faster).In1976 the guttersare introducedonthe pool ( allowswatersplash
incomparisonwithturbulence)&in2008 the full bodylow frictionsuitsare introducedtogeta
minimal resistanceof the water.
In the thirdplace there isalsothe gene pool.Justlookatthe basketball players.We nearlythinkthat
theyhave to be tall to enterthe NBA but yearsago everyone playsinthe NBA.Nowadays1/6men
that are largerthan7 feet( 2m13) playsinthe NBA so whenwe see sucha person,he would
associatedwiththe NBA.
Tall become taller,small became smallerandweirdbecame weirder.Anexcellentexample hereis
the followingsentence:
Michael Phelps( a swimmer) ismuchlargerthan El Guerrouj( a runner) but theyhave the same
lengthof legs.The explanationof thatisthe differentinhumanbodies.Swimmershave alongbody
and shortlegsand longrunnershave a shortbodyand longlegs.It’sweirdbutit’strue.
NowI am a little bitwiseraboutthistopicandI don’thave to ask any questionstomydadin the
future,thanksthe presentationof DavidEpstein.