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I feel like every field where science is lagging behind has this problem. Is this not the case? It seems to me that we know very little about how the body works

by pokot0 4y ago

I feel like every field where science is lagging behind has this problem. Is this not the case? It seems to me that we know very little about how the body works, processes food, etc. Saying "Sports science" feels very different to me than saying (for example) "rigid body physics". The latter can predict the behavior of objects very precisily, the former struggles a lot and can hardly use the scientific method to begin with.

rTX5CMRXIfFG 4y ago
Sorry, what do you mean we know very little about how the body works and processes food? That sounds to me like fields like medicine or physical therapy or nutrition should be impossible, and yet they exist. And correct me if I’m wrong but it doesn’t sound like you know the scope of sports science? It’s a combination of the fields that I made an example of above plus physics, too, and many more (such as business and psychology), but oriented specifically for the purposes of sport and recreation.
sdwr 4y ago
Scientists and "put up or shut up" people optimize for diff things. People who get results, in my experience, do the right things but don't usually have correct explanations. Part of it is the subconscious figuring out what works, and hanging it onto the closest known concept. The other half is that false beliefs are practical and helpful sometimes.
- bluGill 4y ago
  The results I want are long term health. That is much harder to measure and study. I can see which exercise methods results in competitive wins quickly (though some may be a few years), but what will my efforts today change about my life span or old age quality of life?
  - sdwr 4y ago
    I got a dog recently, have been out on walks a lot and talking w other owners. Met a guy with an old dog a few weeks back, she was grey in the muzzle + stiff in the joints, but still moving around happy + unencumbered. He said she was 20 years old, and his second 20+ y/o one. His said he went by: - a balance of positive + negative reinforcement - regular dog food, nothing fancy and that - if she was a seeing-eye dog she'd have been dead by 10 My takeaway is that mental stress is a killer. He was letting her have her "dog-nature". Roam around, sniff things, unburdened. But the #1 has to be people. Everyone withers away alone + takes cues from our environment. The dream is having people around who make it feel natural to be healthy.

by pokot0 4y ago

rTX5CMRXIfFG 4y ago

Sorry, what do you mean we know very little about how the body works and processes food? That sounds to me like fields like medicine or physical therapy or nutrition should be impossible, and yet they exist. And correct me if I’m wrong but it doesn’t sound like you know the scope of sports science? It’s a combination of the fields that I made an example of above plus physics, too, and many more (such as business and psychology), but oriented specifically for the purposes of sport and recreation.

sdwr 4y ago

Scientists and "put up or shut up" people optimize for diff things. People who get results, in my experience, do the right things but don't usually have correct explanations. Part of it is the subconscious figuring out what works, and hanging it onto the closest known concept. The other half is that false beliefs are practical and helpful sometimes.

bluGill 4y ago
The results I want are long term health. That is much harder to measure and study. I can see which exercise methods results in competitive wins quickly (though some may be a few years), but what will my efforts today change about my life span or old age quality of life?
- sdwr 4y ago
  I got a dog recently, have been out on walks a lot and talking w other owners. Met a guy with an old dog a few weeks back, she was grey in the muzzle + stiff in the joints, but still moving around happy + unencumbered. He said she was 20 years old, and his second 20+ y/o one. His said he went by: - a balance of positive + negative reinforcement - regular dog food, nothing fancy and that - if she was a seeing-eye dog she'd have been dead by 10 My takeaway is that mental stress is a killer. He was letting her have her "dog-nature". Roam around, sniff things, unburdened. But the #1 has to be people. Everyone withers away alone + takes cues from our environment. The dream is having people around who make it feel natural to be healthy.