That article tries to debunk a slightly different notion than I had in mind. It's not that I imagined everybody was sitting just above 4 minutes when running th

That article tries to debunk a slightly different notion than I had in mind. It's not that I imagined everybody was sitting just above 4 minutes when running the mile, and that the significance of those round numbers psyched everybody out until Bannister finally broke through. Instead, it's about knowing what's possible and attainable. It's akin to the story of George Dantzig, who solved two unsolved problems in statistical theory because he believed them to be mundane homework problems. Put it this way: how can something that had never been done before 1954 is now considering a very basic benchmark? I would argue that it's precisely because it is considered a basic benchmark that it is so common. If you know something can be done, that makes it easier to train to. If you know something is commonly done, then all the more. Of course, that goes for any record/benchmark, but Bannister's 4 minute mile seems like a particularly significant one.