Debbie says this number would be higher in the US
In the news category, "1 in 4 people are crazy," a survey in the UK found that 1 in 4 Britons think they could qualify for the 2028 Olympics if they just trained for four years. https://yougov.co.uk/sport/articles/50301-a-quarter-of-britons-think-they-could-qualify-for-the-2028-olympics
Note that this includes 15% of people 65+
1 in 17 people think they could make the Olympics in the 100m sprint.
Ha, this must be related to how most people think they are above average intelligence. Most of us think we are much more capable than what we are. I am not immune at all. This is slightly embarrassing, but in my dreams I am always a bad ass. I often get in physical fights and pretty much never lose.
New poll just in from the farm: 30% of sheep think they are wolves.
Or maybe it should be: 30% of sheep confident they could take a wolf in a fair fight.
Quote from: littleman on August 12, 2024, 07:59:18 PM
Ha, this must be related to how most people think they are above average intelligence.
I honestly think this is more related to how a significant number of people think they are good at picking lottery numbers.
This is probably apocryphal, but supposedly someone asked Steve Wozniak if he played the lottery and he said sometimes and he always played the same numbers: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
The person said, "Well, that will never work."
He said, "Exactly."
Quote from: littleman on August 12, 2024, 07:59:18 PM
Ha, this must be related to how most people think they are above average intelligence. Most of us think we are much more capable than what we are. I am not immune at all. This is slightly embarrassing, but in my dreams I am always a bad a##. I often get in physical fights and pretty much never lose.
I could do it :)
Just got to decide the sport!!!! Any suggestions?
Cycling maybe? (https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Fcy5m7bae3jhd1.jpeg)
>Debbie says this number would be higher in the US
60/40. I'll you decide which is which.
Cycling should be a piece of cake. He already knows how to ride a bike. He simply needs to get faster.
>>you decide
I would have guessed the British survey would have found 2% or so, so my understanding of human nature is obviously inadequate to the task.
The older I get the more I realise most many people are delusional.
I think its part of being human. Just like most people are on a "spectrum".
I am heartened by the limits of my delusion.
Example: I went for a run two days ago and pushed hard on a trail I have been running for 20+ years. I thought my fitness was good and I would have the fastest time this year for sure, but probably the best in a few years. No on both counts.
I thought to myself, "Yeah, I'm always a bit delusional before a 'test' run like that." But then I saw the article and realized, "Well, at least I'm not delusional enough to think I could make the Olympics with a bit of training." I'm at the point where I'm hoping that with focused training and great effort, I will run that trail some day in the same time I clocked when I was 51. I don't see the times I did at 31 ever coming back. And those were not... uh... Olympic qualifying times.
That's why I say that there has to be an inverse relationship between the amount of actual sport/training someone has done and the belief they could make the Olympics.
It's possible there is some irony at work. There has to be a percentage that found the whole survey so absurd that they just said "yes" to a bunch of sports just for fun.
Quote from: ergophobe on August 13, 2024, 02:47:12 PM
There has to be a percentage that found the whole survey so absurd that they just said "yes" to a bunch of sports just for fun.
Well, see me above. Not really thought that others might do the same. In the UK probably a significant percentage. We are a bit like that.
I got sucked in to watching the men's marathon and the announcers put it in a bit of perspective... Go to the gym, set the treadmill to 13 MPH and do that for 2 hours. I am definitely going to test that the next time I go to the gym and would be surprised if I can last 15 seconds at that speed.
You could also try moving to Bhutan. The women's marathon athlete from Bhutan ran a slower than 4-hour marathon in Paris.
I saw this when I watched the Olympic slalom in 1980. I was astounded by how powerful Stenmark and Mahre were, something just simply not captured on TV. It was like, "Oh yeah, we are not actually competing in the same sport." But then came some of the last skiers from countries that have no tradition of skiing and I could have easily beaten the last ten athletes. Once again, it was like, "Oh yeah, we are not actually competing in the same sport."
So if they question is, "Could you make Team GB?" that is one question. If the question is, "Could you beat the last place athlete at some Olympic sport?" that would be a much different question.
>> simply needs
Gotta watch that word "simply"; it's dangerous. As are "just" and "only" and probably others that might come to mind later.
I think what's happening here is that many voices tell us that we can do anything, be anything if we work hard enough, and people believe it.
But their life choices don't reflect it. Their efforts are scattered, and there isn't any one thing they want badly enough to give it deep and consistent focus.
Perhaps we could do anything we wanted but we can't do everything. Choosing to go-for-it in activity X means that other things will necessarily get less focus. There are only so many hours in a day or a year.
The big question is, if you dream of excelling in activity X, what other things will you set aside so you can focus on it?
"Could you beat the last place athlete at some Olympic sport"
There was a swimmer from Equatorial Guinea a few years back that swam 100m in 1:52. He was horrible and had never seen an olympic sized pool before he got to the Olympics. I think I could beat him?
>>"simply"; it's dangerous
The "simply" was meant to emphasize the joke, because it is a truism. I would be an elite athlete in dozens of events if I were simply faster.
>> Perhaps we could do anything we wanted
Honestly, I think this is one of the pernicious platitudes foisted upon young people. I know you said "perhaps," but I'm sorry. I give this a hard "no" unless you are unfortunate enough to aspire only to the things you can achieve.
Simon Biles is a great athlete, but had her dream been to be on the Olympic basketball team and that is where she placed her focus, we would not know her name today.
It's not just that Simon Biles can't do everything she wants, even she can't do anything she wants unless she wants the right things.
>>what other things will you set aside so you can focus on it?
This is the part so many people are missing and I find here again the messaging to kids is often poor.
I frame this (perhaps in violation of actual dictionary definitions) as the difference between a wish and a want.
I just had this discussion over the course of a long hike with the 16yo runner staying with us for the summer. I asked her, "Do you want to be the best runner you can be?" She said, "Yes!" That is, let's face it, the "required" answer kids are taught to regurgitate (see above on be able to do anything they want).
I asked, "If you asked me if I wanted to be the best runner I could be, what do you think I would say?"
"Yes," she said knowing the answer was obvious, but sensing that this was a trick question.
"Actually, no. I love too many other things. To be the best runner I can be, I would have to prioritize more than I'm willing. I want to be a mediocre runner so I can also be a mediocre climber and mediocre skier and excellent husband. If my training program calls for a particular run, but Theresa wants to go for a long easy hike with me that day, I'm going to have to say no to her, but going for a long easy hike with Theresa on the days we can is more important to me that being the best runner I can be."
Then I told her that I would love to have a billion dollars, but I don't want to found a company or work on Wall Street, so that's just a *wish*. I want a genie to give it to me. I don't want to DO anything.
If I say that I *want* to be the best runner I can be, that implies that I want to make the changes in my life that would get me there. And, as it happens, I don't want to make those changes because for me they would incompatible with a balanced, happy life.
All of this was news to her. We had a similar conversation two years ago where I told her that "Winners never quit and quitters never win," was just flat out nonsense.
Breakdancing, 1 hours training
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLKPp2Nlo4k
Semi-related: https://xkcd.com/2964/
And FTR, my wife is convinced that the 27% is made up of 1% who are delusional and 26% who think the survey is so ridiculous they decided to have fun with it. She might be right
Quote from: littleman on August 12, 2024, 08:29:25 PM
Cycling maybe? (https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Fcy5m7bae3jhd1.jpeg)
"... rowed at Harvard"
I was reading yesterday there's quite a link between rowing and cycling. More specifically: rowing is one of the sports most transferable to cycling, due to the spinal position and the link with a machine that you're working to propel forwards.
Still a remarkable achievement, but I suspect a much stronger candidate than the average survey respondent.