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One of the things I was taught mumble years ago was that black people tend to have more dense fast twitch muscle, while white people tend to have less dense slo

One of the things I was taught mumble years ago was that black people tend to have more dense fast twitch muscle, while white people tend to have less dense slow twitch muscle. Hence, white people float more easily, and black people dominate the 100m sprint. We did an experiment where we would cannonball the swimming pool and see who floated. Admittedly, the amount of air you have in your lungs affects your buoyancy more, but there was a difference.

simias 9y ago
As I replied in a sibling comment regardless of whether those biological traits have a real impact or not I don't think it's particularly relevant in this context. Maybe nature will prevent a black person from reaching Michael Phelps-levels of swimming proficiency but I don't think it would prevent anybody from learning natation 101. I don't think I'll ever win the 100m sprint at the olympics but I can definitely run 100m and probably faster than the average black person too.
Sleeep 9y ago
This is silly - even if it was true that "black people tend to have more dense fast twitch muscle, while white people tend to have less dense slow twitch muscle" (and I doubt it is) its not relevant. All people who are not physically handicapped can be taught to not drown, and that's what we are talking about here, "not drowning." We aren't talking about competitive level swimming, not swimming as a sport, and not even recreational swimming, we are talking about "stating alive if you find yourself in water." The fact that most (~70%) of black people lack this skill is a serious public health issue.
Alex3917 9y ago
> black people tend to have more dense fast twitch muscle, while white people tend to have less dense slow twitch muscle I think you may be confusing fast twitch muscle density, as in the ratio of fast twitch to slow twitch muscles, with density as a physical property. As far as I know fast twitch muscles aren't any more dense than slow twitch muscles.
deleted 9y ago
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simias 9y ago

As I replied in a sibling comment regardless of whether those biological traits have a real impact or not I don't think it's particularly relevant in this context. Maybe nature will prevent a black person from reaching Michael Phelps-levels of swimming proficiency but I don't think it would prevent anybody from learning natation 101. I don't think I'll ever win the 100m sprint at the olympics but I can definitely run 100m and probably faster than the average black person too.

Sleeep 9y ago

This is silly - even if it was true that "black people tend to have more dense fast twitch muscle, while white people tend to have less dense slow twitch muscle" (and I doubt it is) its not relevant. All people who are not physically handicapped can be taught to not drown, and that's what we are talking about here, "not drowning." We aren't talking about competitive level swimming, not swimming as a sport, and not even recreational swimming, we are talking about "stating alive if you find yourself in water." The fact that most (~70%) of black people lack this skill is a serious public health issue.

Alex3917 9y ago

> black people tend to have more dense fast twitch muscle, while white people tend to have less dense slow twitch muscle I think you may be confusing fast twitch muscle density, as in the ratio of fast twitch to slow twitch muscles, with density as a physical property. As far as I know fast twitch muscles aren't any more dense than slow twitch muscles.

deleted 9y ago

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