Annie Lee (xxannie.leexx@yahoo.com)
Sunday, April 8, 2012
The Argument
In the Argument, Shenk uses Kenyan runners to illustrate the
point that greatness doesn’t come just from genes, it mainly comes from the
environment, as the boys are forced to run while herding cattle and traveling
to school. He is able to illustrate his point thoroughly. However, some of his
other examples include “how tiny South Korea turns out as many great female golfers
as the United States – and how the Dominican Republic has become a factory for
male baseball players” (101). Obviously females do not regularly golf to school
in South Korea, and baseball is not a necessity in the Dominican Republic. How
is it possible to explain this phenomenon? How would Shenk defend his thesis
that work and environment is the main factor in the number of great athletes
from certain geographic areas? Discuss with regards to Chapter Six, Shenk’s
focus on Kenyan athletes, as well as Chapters 14-15 on Inheritance. Relate to
the biological themes of Evolution, Heredity, and/or Interdependence in Nature.
Annie Lee (xxannie.leexx@yahoo.com)
Annie Lee (xxannie.leexx@yahoo.com)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
PART ONE
ReplyDeleteI actually disagree with the emphasis that Shenk puts on environment affecting one’s ability to become a great athlete. I think that genes play a larger role than does the environment.
I don’t think that Shenk is making the claim that work and environment are the MAIN factors in creating athletes. Shenk addresses that both genes and environment influence athletic ability. David Shenk acknowledges that “almost” all Jamaicans are flush with alpha-actinin-3, a protein that drives forceful, speedy muscle contractions” (101). Here Shenk shows us that this protein can have an effect on the success of Jamaicans runners, however, he doesn’t solely attribute athletic success to genetics because many Europeans and Americans also have that protein and there aren’t nearly as many Americans and Europeans holding the same records that the Jamaicans do. He says the environment has a great impact on the success of people as well. As explained, one journalist John Manners thinks that the tradition tat produced Kenyan long-distance runners was cattle raiding. Manners says that cattle raiding helped improve their speed and endurance (103). Also, people of the Kalenjin tribe often ran miles every day to school and back to the farm.
This running was daily practice for them and one of Shenk’s main points is that practice makes perfect. Shenk also emphasizes the type of training that achievers do versus nonachievers. For example, he tells people who want to be very good at long-distance running hat “high-altitude training and mild year-round climate are critical” (105). He also says that “nonachievers seem to be missing something in their process” (69) that makes them fall short of success as compared to achievers. High altitude training benefits athletes in many ways. At higher altitudes, there is a reduction in air resistance and the force of gravity is reduced. As a result of constant exposure to high altitude, the volume of erythrocyte increase as well as the hemoglobin concentration. More long-term benefits include increased blood viscosity, increased capillarisation, decreased lactic acid volume and reduced stroke volume. If the stroke volume decreases, then the cardiac output would decrease as well since cardiac output is heart rate*stroke volume. A low stroke volume also causes lower blood pressure, which is beneficial to the individual. Increased blood viscosity makes it easier for blood through to flow through one’s body and be able to deliver oxygen to tall the muscle tissues and cell that require it to do physical activities and to perform cellular respiration.
Nikitha Duggirala (lakshmi_nikitha_1@yahoo.com)
PART TWO
ReplyDeleteAn important thing to be aware of is that genetics first set the stage and put a limitation on what an individual can achieve and cannot. Genes determine everyone’s potential. After genetics, the environment comes into play and a person’s diet and training affects their athletic achievements and success. Genetics have a large impact on strength, muscle size, muscle fiber composition, anaerobic threshold, lung capacity, flexibility, cardiac capacity, and even endurance. Cardiac capacity is crucial because it determines how much oxygen the heart can deliver to the muscles through the blood and cardiac capacity is already pre-determined by genes. Another factor controlled by genetics is VO2 max, which is the ability of muscle tissues to use the oxygen effectively to create energy (ATP). Cardiac capacity and VO2 max set great limitations or give great capabilities to people. Not only that, but genes also determine how your body responds to training and diet.
When Shenk said that nonachievers miss something in the process, which includes “one or more aspects of style or intensity of practice, or technique, or mind-set, or response to failure” (69), he was trying to say that environment and non-genetic factors cause the difference in success of achievers and nonachievers. They attribute the lack of success of nonachievers to their process, which Shenk describes as being a more external and environment factor. However, according to this article, one’s ability to respond to training and diet is also determined by genetics. So then one’s intensity of practice, technique, mind-set, and response to failure should all be innate things, so this goes back to the ideas that genetics due cause the difference in a “genius” and a “non-genius”.
This article seems to be stating G→E, which is what I believe really occurs. But of course, environment still has an effect, as diet and training are crucial aspects of becoming successful and an athletic professional.
http://www.brianmac.co.uk/environ.htm
http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/anatomyandphysiology/a/genetics.htm
Nikitha Duggirala (Lakshmi_nikitha_1@yahoo.com)
PART ONE
ReplyDeleteI actually disagree with the emphasis that Shenk puts on environment affecting one’s ability to become a great athlete. I think that genes play a larger role than does the environment.
I don’t think that Shenk is making the claim that work and environment are the MAIN factors in creating athletes. Shenk addresses that both genes and environment influence athletic ability. David Shenk acknowledges that “almost” all Jamaicans are flush with alpha-actinin-3, a protein that drives forceful, speedy muscle contractions” (101). Here Shenk shows us that this protein can have an effect on the success of Jamaicans runners, however, he doesn’t solely attribute athletic success to genetics because many Europeans and Americans also have that protein and there aren’t nearly as many Americans and Europeans holding the same records that the Jamaicans do. He says the environment has a great impact on the success of people as well. As explained, one journalist John Manners thinks that the tradition that produced Kenyan long-distance runners was cattle raiding. Manners says that cattle raiding helped improve their speed and endurance (103). Also, people of the Kalenjin tribe often ran miles every day to school and back to the farm.
This running was daily practice for them and one of Shenk’s main points is that practice makes perfect. Shenk also emphasizes the type of training that achievers do versus nonachievers. For example, he tells people who want to be very good at long-distance running that “high-altitude training and mild year-round climate are critical” (105). He also says that “nonachievers seem to be missing something in their process” (69) that makes them fall short of success as compared to achievers.
Nikitha (lakshmi_nikitha_1@yahoo.com)
PART TWO
ReplyDeleteHigh altitude training benefits athletes in many ways. At higher altitudes, there is a reduction in air resistance and the force of gravity is reduced. As a result of constant exposure to high altitude, the volume of erythrocytes increases as well as the hemoglobin concentration. Having more erythrocytes is beneficial because that means more red blood cells and more oxygen-carrying hemoglobin proteins. Hemoglobin has four subunits and each subunit “has an iron atom at its center. Each iron atom binds one molecule of [oxygen]; hence, a single hemoglobin molecule can carry four molecules of [oxygen]” (Campbell 924). Due to this, more oxygen can be traveled throughout the body through the bloodstream. Also, oxygen from the alveoli of the lungs diffuses from the alveoli to the oxygen in the blood. “[Oxygen] in the air dissolves into the fluid that coats the alveolar epithelium and diffuse into the blood” (Campbell 923). Capillaries are only one cell thick so they allow for diffusion and don’t require energy. The structure of the capillary serves its function and relates to the biology theme of structure and function. More long-term benefits include increased blood viscosity, increased capillarization, decreased lactic acid volume and reduced stroke volume.
An important thing to be aware of is that the interaction of genes and environment even before birth determines everyone’s potential. The environment later also comes into play in terms of a person’s diet and training. However, genetics have a large impact on strength, muscle size, muscle fiber composition, anaerobic threshold, lung capacity, flexibility, cardiac capacity, and even endurance.
This article emphasizes that genes do pre-determine certain abilities and puts limitations on other skills as well. But of course, environment still has an effect, as diet and training are crucial aspects of becoming successful and an athletic professional.
http://www.brianmac.co.uk/environ.htm
http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/anatomyandphysiology/a/genetics.htm
Nikitha Duggirala (Lakshmi_nikitha_1@yahoo.com)