08-26-2003, 10:17 PM
I watched that whole fiasco when it happened, and part of it on re-run. :S
It seems to me that much of Track & Field is made up of people developing rather freakish physical attributes, and the delay in the starting block timers defeats a possible freakish ability.
If I recall correctly, conscious response time to a stimulus is a combination of sensation time, plus decision, and transmission time to the muscles. The one-tenth of a second delay in the timer is pretty close to being a reasonable time for that sequence of events.
But, these guys want an edge, and the edge could be in making their start a reflex action rather than a conscious action. That takes out the second event in the sequence (conscious decision to start), and the time for a reflex action is around one-twentieth of a second, also if I recall correctly.
An even greater reduction in response time could be achieved if the vibration of the starting shot was felt by the leg, rather than heard by the ear. That would cut response time to something on the order of one-one hundredth of a second. I don't know how likely it would be for a person to develop that skill, but I wouldn't put it past the realm of possibility. Many insects have exactly the same mechanism for response, that is, vibrations felt by the hairs of the legs trigger the leg to rapid motion.
Like I say, Track & Field has evolved into a "sport" that depends upon the development of rather freakish abilities. There is no point in "nerfing" one ability, by building in an artificial delay in the start. They should get rid of it. Even three of the human judges were sure that he never jumped the gun.
His "demonstration" was another matter. Delaying the race by about an hour was unforgivable, and unfair to the other competitors, both in that event and the others that were delayed. At the least, he should have been expelled from those games altogether.
But, the folks running sports LIKE that kind of incident. It reminds me of the John McEnroe "demonstrations" during his career. That brought people to the games who were not very interested in Tennis, but in the entertainment of seeing another childish tantrum. By tolerating that kind of behavior in Track & Field, they are asking to have those sports degenerate to something with little more relevance than American Pro Wrestling.
-rcv-
It seems to me that much of Track & Field is made up of people developing rather freakish physical attributes, and the delay in the starting block timers defeats a possible freakish ability.
If I recall correctly, conscious response time to a stimulus is a combination of sensation time, plus decision, and transmission time to the muscles. The one-tenth of a second delay in the timer is pretty close to being a reasonable time for that sequence of events.
But, these guys want an edge, and the edge could be in making their start a reflex action rather than a conscious action. That takes out the second event in the sequence (conscious decision to start), and the time for a reflex action is around one-twentieth of a second, also if I recall correctly.
An even greater reduction in response time could be achieved if the vibration of the starting shot was felt by the leg, rather than heard by the ear. That would cut response time to something on the order of one-one hundredth of a second. I don't know how likely it would be for a person to develop that skill, but I wouldn't put it past the realm of possibility. Many insects have exactly the same mechanism for response, that is, vibrations felt by the hairs of the legs trigger the leg to rapid motion.
Like I say, Track & Field has evolved into a "sport" that depends upon the development of rather freakish abilities. There is no point in "nerfing" one ability, by building in an artificial delay in the start. They should get rid of it. Even three of the human judges were sure that he never jumped the gun.
His "demonstration" was another matter. Delaying the race by about an hour was unforgivable, and unfair to the other competitors, both in that event and the others that were delayed. At the least, he should have been expelled from those games altogether.
But, the folks running sports LIKE that kind of incident. It reminds me of the John McEnroe "demonstrations" during his career. That brought people to the games who were not very interested in Tennis, but in the entertainment of seeing another childish tantrum. By tolerating that kind of behavior in Track & Field, they are asking to have those sports degenerate to something with little more relevance than American Pro Wrestling.
-rcv-