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The argument is it fundamentally changes the nature of the sport. Imagine if somebody came up with a baseball with a magnet in it that was attracted to the catc
by lj3 10y ago
The argument is it fundamentally changes the nature of the sport. Imagine if somebody came up with a baseball with a magnet in it that was attracted to the catcher's glove. The catcher now has most of the control as to where the ball goes and all the pitcher is doing is applying speed to the ball. Would that be a natural advancement of the sport? Or would it be cheating?
That's the question the curling world is asking right now. And to make the whole thing murkier, they're able to make this fundamental change not by adding technical wizardry, but by subtly altering something that is already part of the game. Exploiting a flaw in the game, as it were.
- thaumasiotes 10y ago> Imagine if somebody came up with a baseball with a magnet in it that was attracted to the catcher's glove. The catcher now has most of the control as to where the ball goes and all the pitcher is doing is applying speed to the ball. Would that be a natural advancement of the sport? Or would it be cheating? Imagine if somebody invented a hollow aluminum baseball bat that could hit the ball much farther than a wooden bat could.
- lj3 10y agoPrecisely why the MLB banned the use of aluminum bats.
- thaumasiotes 10y agoHow did they "fundamentally change the nature of the sport"? As I understood things, aluminum bats were banned as an effort to make sure professional baseball records from the past stayed comparable to records from the present. They're not, of course, since early athletes didn't use steroids, but we're stuck with the wooden bats anyway.
- douche 10y agoPeople would be getting killed if MLB players were playing baseball with some of the aluminum and newer composite bats that are developed now. I used to play in a men's modified pitch softball league where, even with the half-drunk middle-aged men that were playing, when the DiMarini composite bats came out, guys were using them and ripping line drives that could take your head off. Had to downgrade to a squishier series of softballs that didn't transfer as much of the force from the bat.
- GunboatDiplomat 10y agoWooden bats sound better, though. The a satisfying crack that's missing with aluminum bats.
- tamana 10y agoPthwannnnnnnnnnggggg
- thaumasiotes 10y agoWow, that wasn't something I expected to see stated in wikipedia, but there it is ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball_bat https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball_bat ): > Aesthetically, wooden bats are generally preferred to metal, both for their traditional appearance and satisfying traditional "crack", far superior to alloy bats' hollow "ping". That seems to fall a bit short of "neutral point of view".
- brudgers 10y agoI grew up in Florida, so clearly my view of curling is from the outside beyond exposure during "those crazy Canadians" segments during US broadcasts of the Winter Olympics. From here, it looks mostly analogous to the introduction of fiber glass to tennis rackets or surfboards: technology also changes ideas about what is possible in ways that have little to do with what the technology enables. Though baseball gloves might serve similarly, their evolution was mostly before my time: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-invention-of-the-baseball-mitt-12799848/?no-ist http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-invention-of-... This article suggests that some of the techniques developed with the new broom materials are useful with traditional materials: https://motherboard.vice.com/read/canada-is-using-lasers-and-robots-to-study-a-mysterious-curling-frankenbroom https://motherboard.vice.com/read/canada-is-using-lasers-and...
- ams6110 10y agoIf the technology allows advancement of what the higher-skilled human athlete is able to achieve, I think it's good for the sport. If it merely removes challenge I would not favor it. To call something sport, the skill and effort of the human competitor(s) must be the primary determinant of success.
- PhantomGremlin 10y agoTo call something sport A long time ago a friend used to quip "it's not a sport unless steroids help". By that definition, I don't think curling qualifies. But perhaps someone who actually has participated can chime in. E.g. does having more physical strength help in the initial push given to the rock?
- icebraining 10y agoSo what would your friend call snooker?
- wlesieutre 10y agoA game, presumably.