THE VIDEO SHELF · sports science
Are athletes really getting faster, better, stronger? | David Epstein
David Epstein argues in this TED talk that improving athletic records owe much to technology, training and the selection of specialized body types, not just humans getting inherently better. He gives counter-intuitive examples across sports.
Why HN readers recommended it
HN links it in threads about athlete body types, sports technology and record-breaking as a relevant, counter-intuitive explanation.
This is a summary from the source dataset, not an endorsement by Hacker News or the video creator.
Video & recommendation details
- Creator / channel
- TED
- Topic
- sports science
- Format
- talk
- Level
- general
- HN recommenders in dataset
- 3
- HN mentions in dataset
- 3
- Recommendation years in dataset
- 2014–2020
These counts and years describe the included Hacker News records; they are not YouTube views or the video’s publication date.
From the original HN conversations
Excerpts from the recorded comments. Follow each source for the full comment and surrounding discussion.
Fasinating, reminds me of a great TED talk about this: "Are athletes really getting bigger, faster, stronger?" [VIDEO] tl;dr: no
nichochar on Hacker News · 2014-06
In NFL players: height and weight over timeProfessional sports today are the more result of artificial selection of people that have specialized bodies for their sport. Relevant TED talk: [VIDEO]
code_sloth on Hacker News · 2019-11
In I Was the Fastest Girl in America, Until I Joined NikeI can attest that running on a thick plated pair of shoes like the Zoom Fly SP I had is exhilarating, especially after training in other "normal" shoes. I see how the competition should measure athleticism and not a sponsor/athlete unit, but all recent records …
aledalgrande on Hacker News · 2020-02
In How the Nike Vaporfly War Was Lost
Summaries, classifications and recommendation records are from the HackerTube source dataset. Read about this library and its limitations.