Are athletes really getting faster, better, stronger? | David Epstein

When you look at sporting achievements over the last decades, it seems like humans have gotten faster, better and stronger in nearly every way. Yet as David Epstein points out in this delightfully counter-intuitive talk, we might want to lay off the self-congratulation. Many factors are at play in shattering athletic records, and the development of our natural talents is just one of them.
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[@aerofpv2109]

My goodness .. this dude didn't even stutter and I don't even know if he took a breath. Spectacular speaking athlete.

[@Anonymus365]

He is better at giving speeches because of his small shoulders. Less pressure on the lungs. Soon, other athletes will follow.

[@jumpinjehosephat1877]

There is that moment when talking about 530 runners under a 4 minute mile since 1956 where he says less than 10 new runners added per DECADE. He makes mistakes. He's still a human.

[@lionsyla4840]

Why would u point that out, i cant unhear his breathing now

[@swerks197]

u can hear him breathe the whole video though

[@nickhaas9185]

I'm just here to notify @QJAndra 😘

[@404sasquatch]

After several years of this video in my recommendations, you win KZbin algorithm

[@spyder2390]

So true lmfao

[@99pppo]

same

[@radighazal1994]

Abd El-Ghazali do you have the same surname as me?

[@joshwelchez1808]

So true man

[@googleuser7995]

facts

[@levi2408]

Everyone talking about how good a speaker he is, but I'm just amazed at that powerpoint.

[@tahabilal2741]

Ikr

[@khaisonduong]

@@KevinBoneSosa it looks like Prezi Classic. Does anyone know if this can be done on Prezi Next?

[@maxentirunos]

I am pretty sure he doesn't use powerpoint but something more akin with lucid chart

[@jamesambrocio]

Use Prezi. An amazing website.

[@alvinjackson6191]

You stole my comment nine months before I thought of it.

[@smokeyjoe6059]

4:02 - "Sir Roger Bannister... who trained for 45 minutes at a time while he skipped gynecology lectures in med school." Wow. I'm speechless.

[@davidvarnes7708]

I know... who'd want to skip gynecology lectures? Especially back then?

[@jackriley590]

@@davidvarnes7708 creep.

[@scottbickerton4152]

I dont know why people think there is something sexy about that. Its about the least sexy thing in medicine. No one is thinking about that while doing that stuff.

[@redsock1298]

@@scottbickerton4152 Plenty of convictions of gynaecologist engaging in sexual crimes with their patients. The rate of male gynaecologists has gone down in recent times. Possibly due to not having the sort of privileges that someone like David Varnes fantasizes about and also because the good male gynaecologist don't want to be associated with the idea of male doctors who act according to David Varnes' line of behavior. We'd all do better remembering that humans are common descendants of animals and when sexual deviancy is possible, it should be assumed that at one point it will or will have already occurred in a population of humans.

[@PongoXBongo]

@@davidvarnes7708 I would imagine a lot of what they study is diseased, damaged, or deformed...not exactly sexy.

[@SquirmyandGrubs]

I was born with a muscle-wasting disease called spinal muscular atrophy. Basically: every muscle in my body gets weaker as I get older. I’m 26, and until very recently, many with my disease typically passed away in their 30s and 40s. Last year, the first-ever treatment for my disease was discovered and approved by the FDA, a profound event that permanently changed the trajectory of my future. I can’t properly describe the flood of joyous relief I felt when I received the news. I’ve been on the drug for about a year now, which means I’m no longer getting weaker, and even, dare I say it, slowly gaining back some of the strength and ability I’ve lost over the years. A month or two ago, I sat up unassisted for the first time since childhood, and you better believe that felt just as exhilarating as breaking the record for fastest mile or lifting ten billion pounds on the bench press. Idk I just wanted to share with you after watching this! TL;DR Man in wheelchair is basically an athlete.

[@tofuyun77]

❤️❤️❤️

[@olivermountjoy6069]

can you hit the gym or no

[@rakshithkakunje621]

Congrats man !

[@moonlightfitz]

I’m very happy for you!

[@somerandom7672]

I definitely wasn’t expecting to see you here. Awesome news, I hope you keep getting stronger.

[@Coeurebene1]

My personal record for running the mile is 300 meters.

[@Meechooilka]

Ahahahahahahaaha OMG.....

[@Tim_Marshall73]

Feakos dang yours is fast mine in 1600 meters

[@luqmaan0o]

Or is that 301 - Ur IQ? lol

[@imhungry8513]

😂

[@andusz5518]

Legend

[@TandemKnights]

Brilliant. Direct, concise delivery of essential information, perfect visuals and a hint of humor. Well done!

[@2011hwalker]

He is dead wrong at 14:02 though. Killian Jornet is an absolute freak, he has an "astronomical VO2 Max of 92 ml/min/kg, which is among the highest levels ever recorded"

[@carlosguerra3560]

THIS DUDE IS PERFECT!!! WHAT A PRESENTATION! He was genuinely so funny!! Every second of this was informative! Thank you so so much!

[@EpicBunty]

Well then suck him off will ya

[@gamingsuperhero5773]

@@EpicBunty LMAO

[@C45p3r]

Not sure whether you are being sarcastic or not.

[@simplitia]

he took his own advice but in picking the on what to work on.

[@going_downtown]

"if you know someone who is 7 feet tall, there is a 17% chance that they play in the NBA." thats pretty cool

[@nmarbletoe8210]

that's the craziest fact in the presentation

[@Harry-uq9qd]

between ages 20-40 or thereabouts

[@jordanalia4595]

Evan Brown I just met a dude, a 7’2” security guard Turns out he played in the NBA about 15-20 years ago

[@adityasinghaswal4923]

KD has a wingspan of 7'4 but his height is 6'10 Guy was fucking made for NBA

[@going_downtown]

Aditya Aswal Theres photos of KD standing next to 6’11 players and he’s taller than them. I think he lies about his height lol

[@luispaneto2883]

"Have you seen an apes butt? They have no buns."-David Epstein 2014

[@DzinkyDzink]

Baby got buns, uhn!!!

[@9SmartSand6]

You gonna tell him? I'mmmm not gonna tell him..... Apes may have no buns, but they do have short tempers....

[@tylerschoenhofen9458]

Lmao

[@superman224499]

Lmao no, I can’t say I have

[@orientbeachbum8346]

Well, if a 600 pound gorilla can do a one-handed chinup, you gotta respect that

[@kodjoosiemszesc5471]

That is, by far, the best TED talk I've ever seen. A lot of well interpreted statistics, great animations beetween the slides and the world class speaker delivering it. And at the top of it all, it was really interesting.

[@QAYWSXEDCCXYDSAEWQ]

This guy has really done his home work, and as already mentioned is a machine gun speaker... almost no pauses, just fire, fire, fire... if there was an olymipics for speakers he might be in it.

[@maxdurk4624]

Well, he's written a pretty genius sports book

[@sheepgoesmoo4281]

This is what education truly is. Authentic learning. His presentation is so superb that the viewer becomes interested in his presentation. Authentic learning is when we humans want to learn. Learning in school for me isnt authentic learning because I dont want to learn, I know I have to. He got me engrossed in his presentation thus learning something new. Thats something not anyone can do but exceptional individuals like him.

[@PPA625]

You seriously didn't buy into his biased presentation, did you? Just because it's presented professionally, doesn't mean it's not BS.

[@sheepgoesmoo4281]

@@PPA625 So how is it baised? Since u think its baised pls do explain what part of it is baised

[@sarahl3721]

What about when he have to learn...surely thats the most authentic learning if the concept of "authentic learning" even stands up

[@sheepgoesmoo4281]

@@sarahl3721 authentic learning is learing something you're interested in. So it depends whether he was interested in the topic he studied and presented.

[@facemushroom]

When you compare that to the social justice drivel, lies and delusion of a Ted X talk it seems even better!

[@kachowski8982]

That was the quickest 14 minutes in my life

[@onyxrafle8066]

And pretty soon someone else will beat your record of fastest 14 minutes

[@smartaclesllama8677]

Kachow ski that’s what she said

[@forenoon5123]

@@smartaclesllama8677 you are one smart llama

[@mikael9325]

True. He is a fantastic speaker, you understand him easily and time goes quickly.

[@crappersage1285]

Cant relate

[@me0wme0wman67]

As a human race, we don’t improve how good of a job we do, we just make the job easier

[@joyfulzero853]

Assuming you are American I have never understood why many Americans say "... how good of a..." instead of just "...how good a..."

[@Maximus-rm7jn]

@@joyfulzero853 many of us americans tend to have a "lazier" form of speaking in casual conversation, so saying "how good a..." would be more common. "how good of a..." is actually the proper phrase, and the one that I personally prefer to use - mostly because I'm a stickler for precise language.

[@panama1942]

@@joyfulzero853 You got ratio'd you bozo

[@whyiseverysinglehandletaken2]

@@joyfulzero853 I think only the British say it with an of

[@88marome]

We're also making things harder for ourselves. Capitalistic bureaucracy to increase profit is a thing, and overproduction of unecessary products are harming our climate which in turn harms us.

[@aspiringcloudexpert5127]

Are athletes really getting faster, better, stronger? This video: well yes but actually no but actually yes.

[@illarionbykov7401]

Yes. He explains why, and pretends that once you explain the reason for a change, the change didn't happen. Bogus reasoning.

[@frontalbackstab]

The video just shows that the changes are not natural but artificial.

[@farzanaalam4187]

clown the athlete is not anymore athletic its the extra boost being given to him or her which means it can be applied to athlete of any era and essentially says today's athlete is nothing special compared to the athletes of the past

[@peZt93]

The question "Are athletes getting faster" implies that the human gene pool somehow improved over the decades. He goes on to explain that this is not the case. Athletes today aren't faster than athletes of the past because we as humans have gotten faster, but because of changes in technology and because more people participate in sports therefore there are more freak athletes to chose from

[@TheCommercialBreakk]

People are born with tremendous genetics all over the past thousands of years and some aren’t so no athletes are not getting better but nutrition and training programmes are and also PED’s.

[@tomerwin1472]

Ok KZbin I’ll watch it damnit!

[@BenSohlberg]

Same here lol

[@augustasmerkys]

lmao so true

[@Sakuxxx1x]

rofl....same here...after month of it popping up....

[@ericz1190]

Tom Erwin same

[@obviouslyfake6060]

In all fairness this one was actually worth the time, not like that weird joe rogan prison story..

[@zippy441]

This guys presentation skills are off the chart!!

[@orangecounty2033]

agreed, when i run out of ambien ;)

[@mikesmith7579]

that’s just do to technology

[@bretarmstrong6303]

This guy is brilliant. He could see me cancer and I'd buy it.

[@ptbot3294]

The that's a terrible chart. Use log scale if your data range is very wide. What a terrible presentation. The data is off the chart.

[@brohemian]

looks and sounds like he just read a book on "how to give a perfect presentation." Presentation could have been quarter the duration with more info if Epstein dropped the emotional whooaa isn't this soo amazing inflection

[@pauls3946]

I love TED talks. So many varied topics and always very informative.

[@Mr_Slaw]

As close to perfect of a informative presentation as you'll get Everything was on point & gave a much better understanding on why things are where there at today

[@bobbysilver272]

I'm 6ft 8 inches tall. A cheeky lady at a party asked me in front of everyone if "everything else" was in proportion to my height! I had to tell her: "No. If it was, I would be over 11 feet tall" :-)

[@jellydopenut2073]

If that were true, then i would be a dwarf •_•

[@gabedavis714]

That's a high IQ play right there

[@pinkharmonica1312]

300 IQ

[@gigachad5426]

Bobby Silver Speech 100

[@Totalballa41]

and then you pulled her in and kissed her and everyone cheered and clapped.... r/thathappened

[@hamzatahir8074]

His presentation of the topic was exquisite

[@pursueyourdreams3694]

+Hamza Tahir i agree

[@cryo9216]

Are you kidding? First he claims all improvements are due to technology, then contradicts himself by pointing out that athletes train harder and smarter than ever before. And he never explained how there's been an 80 minute improvement in the marathon in less than 100 years.

[@nikkimartini5587]

That's not contradictory at all. The reason that athletes are training harder and smarter than ever is because more research has gone into the training these athletes put themselves through. We better understand biomechanics and the way that different bodies are genetically predisposed to performing better in certain sports.The improvement in marathon times is multifaceted as mentioned by sienna three.

[@milestanoev689]

I have spent months researching into how to jump higher and discovered a fantastic website at Enyeto jump plan (google it if you are interested)

[@randall172]

he explained it, kenyans didn't run in marathons 100 years ago, they weren't invited. training harder and smarter doesn't explain the big changes, the increased diversity of the population pool has.

[@antoniomingrondinella5706]

It would have been interesting to hear about how nutrition has gotten far better in the modern era, making us grow larger etc.

[@asafvirin2181]

This video was hands down the best, most informative, most engaging Ted talk I have ever watched, this man is an amazing speaker and that PowerPoint was just wow.

[@shiunhorngsaw3124]

This guy is a master presenter. One of the best

[@thedeathcake]

Totally agree

[@lasith.D]

jon doe ehh i wonder if you’d have the guts to do the same thing

[@AJHart-eg1ys]

LAS: The two issues are unrelated.

[@thepeppers9115]

I agree. Must have participated in theater or speech at a younger age. Or he has a complete disconnect with stage fright.

[@michaelanthony4750]

One thing he doesn't mention is that Jessie Owens time was hand-timed whereas today it's handled by computers. Hand-times can vary wildly especially in a sport where the difference between first and second can be .01 of a second.

[@js4466]

Michael Anthony this. That 10.2 could've been a 10.00 or a 10.4. Let's say it was actually 10.00, the faster case. 0.2 is a lot to shave, but handtiming it is certainly possible to be off that much. Now put Owens on a modern track, that's 1.5% decrease, so his time is now 9.85. Now add in blocks. That alone could drop to 9.75 (.10) which would break Bolts record. Now add in nutrition and new exercise protocols. Now add in shoes. Now this is what is mystifying to me. Track today takes advantage of the physiological advantages, longer limbs, etc. They have the better nutrition and s&c. They have the better technology. Some, maybe most even, use PEDs. How is it that Owens would theoretically be capable of running faster than Bolt if given the modern tools today? Owens 10.2 before the tech is only a top 3 in a state for HS (compared to now). Owens with the tech today would be a freak among freak athletes (9.8 is not too unreasonable, you're top 5 in world). So is Owens THE biggest freak, in that he can run the pace of a modern athlete in 1940s or has human performance not really increased, and mainly technology or PEDs? It kind of disheartening if true actually.

[@ryanlum9698]

yea owens was a pack a day smoker! no way an elite level sprinter of today could smoke

[@rinowatson]

JS bolts record is 9.58 btw

[@rinowatson]

JS hand times are always faster compared to electronic times because the person has to react to the sound of the gun or the body movement of the runner. The clock and the gun didn’t start at the same time at they do today. Idk why U used the 10.00 instead of the 10.4.

[@lburns7952]

No kidding Jesse Owens smoked?? Imagine if he didn't!! Good Lord He'd have been flying...

[@aldovega8961]

This guy: 2:00:00 marathon is highly improbable Kipchoge: Hold my beer

[@clarkey7386]

Damn this popped up on the recommended at a bad time, his last name lmaooo

[@PettyGG]

Hahaha. you have mono?

[@hunterG60k]

Yup, physically cringed when I read it.

[@_wayward_494]

@@hunterG60k lmao same when I read your last name

[@Cole444Train]

That Kenyan tribe statistic is absolutely insane

[@Fabzil]

Everybody is good at something. If they try wrestling, with their long thin legs, they gonna have a pb ^^

[@sbwzrd]

@@Fabzil Elaborate?

[@Xrider6]

@@sbwzrd athletes have bodies specified to their own category, runners have long slender and thin muscles to conserve energy and long lasting stamina, powerlifters are heavyset with fats to store energy 5. Fighters are a little bit balanced for maximum performance

[@longjohn2695]

You just on KZbin to much

[@3vimages471]

Cheers …. most kind. @@jrock0block80

[@redrounin1440]

"have you ever looked at an ape's butt?" I'm dying

[@damiancobb8177]

redrounin no buns

[@givant]

umbasa! lol

[@atromos]

Then maybe you should see a doctor.

[@coolbro3191]

If you're dying how are you typing?

[@DonCorledopey]

yeah, everyone has looked at an ape's butt once or twice in this lifetime

[@kylec105]

The problem is the 1904 olympics is notorious for its horrendous setup, if he had used the 1908 one, which the winner won in 2 hours and 55 minutes , it would have been more accurate to describe the growth of athletes.

[@theleftuprightatsoldierfield]

I read a statistic somewhere that only 23 Olympic marathon runners in history finished with a slower time than the winner of the 1904 marathon. Of those 23, only 10 were not run in 1904.

[@jondovik6250]

Not all statistics are right

[@JohnDoe-dj3lw]

@@jondovik6250 nor they are to be taken as straight undeniable facts. There's always room for errors :)

[@kathyd456]

I wonder how the sprinters today would fare on cinder tracks...

[@zaggernut5054]

about 1.5% worse

[@JoeARedHawk275]

zaggernut 50 Idk, it seems like it would be like a parabola, where it gets worse for short distance, like 100m, where there isn’t enough traction to use all of your strength, not that bad for mid distance, like up to 3k, and then worse for 5k and up as it continually drains their energy over a longer course.

[@adrianbarreto4225]

@@JoeARedHawk275 I remember when we use to run along the beach in Okinawa Japan for PT. Sand really feels like its sucking the life out of you through your damn feet. 4 miles later and i was finally back on asphalt kissing the ground

[@DangerVille]

Expected nerdy, anti-jock gibberish... ended up getting a masterpiece of information.

[@elrey8876]

I want to know where the limit is. How much faster can the human body theoretically run? How much more weight can it lift?

[@Rube2zday]

Kinda like wanting to read the End of the book huh, guess we'll have to stay healthy and strong long enough to find out :D I wanna live to be a hundred & 3

[@TheNickiscrazy]

Yo are you spons Caue im interested

[@futurestrangeofficial]

Hilarious and Original

[@justicekellett7680]

That’s exactly what I was thinking 😂

[@chromerunner6094]

This is a whole lot more educational than I thought it was going to be

[@Pippyaspen]

truth

[@scottmartin222]

14:54 of my evening well spent. Thoroughly enjoyable Speach to listen to. 👍🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@DatDudeBabyG]

Best TED talk I’ve ever seen. Makes you think about people writing off ‘50s and ‘60s NBA players in GOAT conversation

[@hicks727]

lol yeah we all know how that Michael Jordan vs everyone in the 50's and 60's experiment went. Watch a hockey game from 1963 and compare it to 2019.

[@krlllx]

hicks727 what experiment

[@BearsThatCare]

I wish I was that good at prezis.

[@stubb1qaz]

He has actually very little presentation content - a few stock image cutouts. The construct of the presentation is very good the images accompany his words and they are only present when he needs to illustrate something visually. Nothing he says is repeated on the screen. Thats the beauty.

[@lachlanclifford9489]

Bear McBear

[@CallMeMicahT]

I wish I was that good at pretzels

[@BenMJay]

If you continue to wish for things instead of pursuing what you want, you will never achieve it. You think Prez Trump wished to be prez and then did nothing? He attacked his dream. Now we are all benefiting.

[@Jacobsmith-tj9oj]

Just learn to speak fluently and you can do the same, Stubby has the right idea

[@abuzzedwhaler7949]

This guy is incredibly confident. Great speech.

[@sundigest1121]

@humanISvegan why are you so mad lol? he did provide scientific evidence what are you even talking about?? are how is he jealous?

[@YehudiNimol]

@humanISvegan You are the nonsensical one. How is he jealous? Didn't he provide you enough scientific explanations through this entire video? What are you even talking about?

[@maristoldboys5466]

I like this cunning linguist.

[@joeboyle5864]

One of the best posts Ive ever seen !! Some of these insights have occurred to me, but nothing close to what this man has revealed . Social factors, economic factors, probablities of physical traits within populations...amazing !!! So glad I watched this. And Ive shared it to those I know who are interested !

[@MarioSilva-jg5nh]

So basically since their was a conscious move to move towards body types the level has increased. But athletes in general aren’t better. Just better body types and this was starting to happen 70’s-80’s

[@daha3074]

Agreed. They are more powerful, faster, stronger but technique and skill were sacrificed. In addition to that each sport is more specialized. In other words a good soccer player will struggle with playing basketball.

[@xqt39a]

Recent world records in the marathon 2:03:38 Patrick Makau Kenya September 25, 2011 2:03:23 Wilson Kipsang Kenya September 29, 2013 2:02:57 Dennis Kimetto Kenya September 28, 2014 2:01:39 Eliud Kipchoge Kenya September 16, 2018 ... from population the size of suburban Atlanta...

[@LAZLOWEYO]

Similarly, Dagestan is the foundry of wrestling champions

[@Carminocat]

@@LAZLOWEYO A lot of the Kenyans got caught doping.

[@skatermaninred45]

yeah, but are their hearts enlarged and will die at an early age?

[@ineedmoresleep3728]

Look up what kinda animals are in Kenya, people learn to sprint pretty fast when sharing a habitat with the fastest predators to coexist with humans

[@deviljho4260]

I Need More Sleep Kenyans aren’t known for being fast lol they’re known for their endurance

[@jojonerdz5258]

That was actually a good talk, very intresting and informative!

[@keytkim5180]

humanISvegan how smart can u be then?🤔

[@maverick6775]

he did his homework

[@Papa1Smurf1]

This is my favourite, most watched TED talk

[@eliasG303]

"Send a group of people to the gym for a couple hundred years and its paying dividends, they're fuxking dunking on us" -Bill Burr

[@parimtm]

Bill gates*

[@GabzitoHD]

"Ser Rodger Bannister" sounds like a game of thrones character lol

[@kiduzi9507]

Lannister

[@harrylewis9980]

It’s Sir

[@bencovington1121]

Sir Roger Bannister. He was a Brit.

[@RichAFCW]

Not in GoT

[@caf3in323]

there was Ser Roger Reyne who was killed by Tywin Lannister you know the song "Reins of Castamere" is all about that or for TV show fans "Lannister Song" sung by Bronn

[@pontaristempest896]

So, Saitama is mentally disabled then. He broke his limiter, became bald and now is the most powerful man on Earth (in that Universe)...

[@huskiehuskerson5300]

U catch up fast. Goku also keeps breaking his limiter.

[@jason5821]

@@huskiehuskerson5300 nah, there's a difference between a limiter and limit. Goku just broke his new limit reaching new heights and there's still a new limit after that. Saitama broke the concept of the limiter, as in, he has no limit.

[@harun2632]

@@huskiehuskerson5300 fkin captain america

[@ineedmoresleep3728]

Pretty sure Saitama is socially disabled, nowhere in the entire manga did he show any signs of having basic social skills.

[@LednacekZ]

Goku isnt human. He is of godly race that forgot its own power.

[@nigefal]

This fella would run rings around most other TED talks excellent stuff - interesting, funny, well researched and well presented.

[@jhonhomerrana9080]

Long story short: technology makes better athletes. Near future: cyborgs olympics.

[@Voodoo_Robot]

Oh i would love to see that.

[@olahnzaft2311]

artificial tendons, joints (ACLs, Achilles heels etc.) would mean athletes can also compete at an elite level well into their 40s. Its going to be a sports world of enhanced "freaks"

[@Sokoly.]

I'd take a step back and suggest a different approach: DOPING OLYMPICS. EVERY SUBSTANCE IS PERMITTED AND THERE'S NO DOPING TEST. Let it show us the "real" limits of the human body. ofc it will never happen

[@aaaaansh4907]

@@Sokoly. that would be great except for the fact it may eventually burn them up (athletes)

[@SangerZonvolt]

Technically speaking, aren´t the paralympics, where people compete with prothesis, already cyborg athletes?

[@daxxonjabiru428]

My dad would have loved this talk. He'd always tell me how much harder he had it back in the day. Happy Fathers' Day, old man! (Oops jumped the gun -- I am disqualified ...)

[@SkintoneChickenbone]

E

[@michaeljordan9461]

L

[@jaou1]

That was an excellent speech, however he did forget one huge variable and that is the precision of time keep. In the 1920's time wasn't as precisely measured than it is today. I feel he needed to cover this matter, as well as steroids.

[@alexisvnc]

I was about to point that out abou the timekeeper.

[@johnvatkevich2259]

www.amazon.com/Sports-Gene-Extraordinary-Athletic-Performance/dp/161723012X

[@MotorKoiKarpfen]

But there is a delay at the start too, also since you can anticipate the runner crossing the finish line there is no reaction time there. That would make it plus .2

[@ryanwong8806]

He said something about performance enhancing drugs but they usually get caught for it.

[@NomSauce]

But he also didn't talk mention how the gene pool was "upgraded" due to increase in average human health standards etc. There's both pros and cons he didn't talk about, because he can't talk about everything. So he has to make it flow, therefor with the theme of the presentation I feel like this was better. He had already mentioned technology, he's not gonna talk about every single one. He didn't mention the flop for high jump or better poles for pole jumping etc.

[@buffen2496]

I thought that "beep" sound was my stomach lol

[@daha3074]

PED's play a role as well given most professional athletes use them. Overall an excellent presentation.

[@bpdmf2798]

You can see it in basketball easily. Pg's are usually always 6'1-6'4 and quick. Centers are usually 6'10-7'2 and lumbering. Different expectations of gameplay require different body types. Being tall hurts dribbling, being to short hurts rebounding. Specialized skills for socialized body types.

[@Tombriderx]

Giannis/Ben Simmons.

[@andrindahinden3603]

Tombriderx there’s always exceptions, we talking about the average nba player

[@candidatesvoice8826]

Giannis, LBJ, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, Carmelo Anthony, Rodney Hood, Shaun Livingston, Brandon Ingram, Kevin Love, Kyle kuzma, Ben Simmons, there’s a lot more too. These are just the ones that come to my head initially.

[@rhianimal19]

KLove? Seriously? LMAO

[@rhianimal19]

We thought KD & LBJ were physical freaks until Giannis came along

[@ericbazinga]

Correction: Athletes are getting _harder, better, faster, stronger_

[@Thisisnotanid45]

Wooooooo At least someone thought of it! XD

[@2yc352]

no they are not. better and stronger athletes are born or discovered

[@Thisisnotanid45]

@@2yc352 lol do you realize what reference he's making? XD

[@akhileshnidamanuri8460]

@@Thisisnotanid45 Kanye West' song right?

[@Thisisnotanid45]

@@akhileshnidamanuri8460 How dare you

[@en4bl3]

i mean, a crucial part is having the right genes and athletic abilities from a young age but most of it is straight up hard work and practise. In those 100 years technogies have advanced a lot and we have reached lots of milestones. All of those new methods, technologies, researches have helped athletes become and prepare better than ever before. in my opinion, of course there is the factor of genetic abilities but most of it is about the environment you live in.

[@JohnSmith-zk8xp]

Depends on if the action leans heavily upon genetics or environment, doesn't it? Are we talking something that needs eagle eyed eyesight or muscle memory?

[@jixster1566]

This is one of my favorite ted talks ever

[@desmondmoonbear4143]

They have no bunnz

[@mhishamdotorg]

#priorities haha ;)

[@Vaalferatus]

lol you can have the most eloquent talk video and then the comments are like this

[@cossiedrifter]

@AC130 BOMBDROPPA So now you have no bunnz either? 😂

[@alexc7857]

500th like

[@nicolasescobaravila7910]

"Have you ever looked at an ape's butt?" XD

[@22fordfx49]

Another thing is the world population had exploded in the 20th century. The salaries of professional athletes also exploded and gave much more incentive to train harder on the road to become a professional.

[@xsolent]

Yah, changed from a hobby to a career.

[@huskiehuskerson5300]

Yeah they were called Amateurs before, no money at all just medals.

[@naveenarora6467]

@@xsolent why r u replying everywhere😂😂

[@ineedmoresleep3728]

It’s been a while and I don’t have the article but scientists found the fossilized footprints of some person in some part of Africa estimated to have run faster than any modern Olympic athlete. I guess running for your life against some of the fastest predators to have coexisted with humans is bound to break some records

[@lesrach3]

Very good point

[@escritoradesorientada8731]

The human body is so powerful, and if the mindset is on your favour, it gets more interesting. For example, me. I was horrible in running, but with time I finished my first marathon after 4 months preparation, but that's not the power, the real power of human body was adapting to the very heavy training routine, the ability to adapt and evolve is so powerful, came from 2.5 km to 42.2. As I said, if your body and mind work together you can get very powerful, just believe that you can do it and go for it

[@Meteo_sauce]

Chess, while not an athletic sport, is a perfect example of how technology has evolved a sport. With the advent of computer analysis, chess champions today memorise moves that have been suggested as the "best move" by computers. They would spend hours and hours a day just memorising the moves, trying to turn themselves into the chess computers that they learnt from.

[@stevencooke6451]

Probably my favourite Ted Talk, along with the gentleman who responded to Spammers. Profoundly interesting and informative.

[@rokpodlogar6062]

point of this presentation for me was, it's not the human abilities that's changing much, but the ability to get around the body's systems that control the output. with conditioning, training, selective skills and predespositions.

[@xephios99]

Rok Podlogar right on my dude

[@coenraadkoster2094]

One of worlds strongest men, Eddie hall, spent 6 months working together with a psychologist, he broke the deadlift record by 37KG (467 to 500KG) This is an amazing jump that we have never seen before And it wasn't done though physical training

[@TheClassicWorld]

I think the fact he was only 6'2 yet 400 pounds had something to do with it. Much shorter than the top strong men, yet he had the same fat/weight. Hence why he quit and is getting smaller now. If he carried on, he would have died. He also trains hard and has been a lifelong athlete (such as a top swimmer). I guess it also helped a bit being short since he didn't have to lift as far. I also think Eddie tried the world record deadlift at like 1,100 pounds but failed (60 pounds more or so).

[@GauntLife]

I think a girl who used to be a dude is making huge strides in women's deadlifting too. Probably due to diet and motivation.

[@TheClassicWorld]

@@GauntLife A man is doing well in women's deadlift since he has the advantage of male genetics such as muscle mass, thus meaning he can lift more. It has nothing to do with diet/motivation. Just genes (pun not intended). Male transgender people are also doing really well in female swimming if I can recall.

[@nicholite697]

When he say "as more we know about that limiter, the more we can do to push it back by just a bit" makes me wanna train like goku.

[@alkh3myst]

I'll meet you at 1,000 feet. Then we can stand there in mid-air, comparing our power levels.

[@nicholite697]

@@alkh3myst bro this is a 2 year old comment

[@alkh3myst]

@@nicholite697 Bro, my comment was simply a joke.

[@Arif_Raziq]

@@nicholite697 woah and your still managed to reply

[@brightbite]

Honestly misread the title as "Are ATHEISTS Getting faster better stronger."

[@live4ward]

hahaha thanks for sharing that! no, but i wouldn't blame 'em in this day and age

[@user-yb8fs4el3y]

brightbite lol same

[@yvesgomes]

I wish XD

[@federal_agent9673]

Same

[@dexter1673138]

SAME.

[@nathanyamaha465]

so people aren't really better now than then... just different technology and selection of athletes.

[@forzacavaliere]

Yeah the human race isn't evolving athletically like the constant record-breaking would have you believe. Actually, you could say it's de-volving, the athletic capabilities of the average person has been plummeting thanks to an increasingly sedentary lifestyle and a weaker education system. www.ericcressey.com/why-were-losing-athleticism If you liked the video you'll find this article interesting.

[@piggylord32]

forzacavaliere everyone knows acquired traits aren't acquired. How exactly does a sedentary lifestyle select for less athletic people? It doesn't.

[@Kougeru]

Peter Chiang you clearly misunderstood

[@enduraman1]

I agree.

[@NeedSleep008]

Peter Chiang read up on epigenetics, the traits aren't so much acquired or lost, they're just more likely to not be expressed or expressed (depends on the gene in particular)

[@1Live2Love3Thrive]

This guys speech to breath ratio is top of his athletic class, he's off the charts, for every full sentence his intake of air is at 2% efficiency ratio.

[@italyavenue]

Proper and smart training must include just the right combinations of the following factors: Frequency. Type. Duration. Intensity. Rest should be on that list, too. (at #1). But ultimately, the art to peak performance is about learning how to do nothing on average. This is next level. It takes a degree of self mastery most pro athletes do not have because they simply are not experienced enough. You must literally transcend the physical in order to master it. Wrap your head around that. Or dont.

[@declup]

One of the most engaging presentations I've seen. My appreciation, David Epstein.

[@joshuabautista7198]

To all my Naruto fans out there, when he was talking about limiters on our bodies, I was thinking about the Eight Inner Gates.

[@dizzybear7472]

Joshua Bautista lmao

[@MrQuestiel]

HACHIMON TONKO... KAIMON... KAI! I feel the human race still has a lot of gates to go through

[@KirstenMongie]

7th GATE OPENNNNN!

[@Zerschnitzler77]

i think that´s literally what he ´s talking about

[@aaronbruce5568]

I know me too.

[@flua1508]

Fascinating talk, never thought of all those details! Really enjoyed the speaker, too. Will recommend...

[@ShayanGivehchian]

This might be true for speed sports and the improvement may not have been significant. But in strength sports the records from 50 years ago are considered rookie numbers now in powerlifting/weight lifting and strongman it's just a different world now

[@luka2113]

Better steroids/traning method thats all to it.

[@johnnykeane9633]

@@luka2113 so basically if the same athletes 50 years had the same benefits of today's lifters they would be doing the same or better?

[@victorlevivalenciano1755]

My personal record for running a mile is just under 4 hours

[@whisp3ringchaos780]

Grainy Corcelles It was a joke bro

[@dpfilms1904]

r/whoooooosh

[@anthonyy_vivid5438]

@@dpfilms1904 super whoosh lol

[@caf3in323]

6 seconds 10 minutes 1 hour 5 days and counting ....

[@aoshay6406]

Dude i walk to school which is 1.2 miles away i can walk in 30 minutes

[@jtmnavy]

this guy is really smart

[@andrewp4666]

Just got done watchin one of your vids, this was in my up next.

[@travismancill3360]

Damn straight

[@Max-qd5mb]

are you sure about that sir

[@cartman1311]

Nah

[@jasminemartinez1259]

No, he just wears glasses lol

[@presleyseamans366]

Amazing speech you were talking very clear and used very specific words. Nice job my man

[@vitaliiklak8059]

He don’t say any Aaaa ammm . How many times he rehears his speech. Bravo ! His books awesome !!!

[@massivegat5087]

I think it just goes to show how stellar and concise this guys presentation is to get me to watch a 15 minute speech about a topic I otherwise wouldn't care about. Job well done, this was a very enjoyable video!

[@johnnyquest9519]

I remember some announcers talking about this. About how the balance beam evolved. The announcer said he remembered when a split was daring. Nobody did flips on the balance beam

[@benneen9738]

We’ve learned more about anatomy and how to train more and better technology in shoes and tracks so obviously we gotten stronger and faster.

[@math_the_why_behind]

That's so cool about the large difference between the types of tracks!

[@MD-go9vu]

I would like to know how my endurance in bed compares to someone in 1930s

[@darrallshamarwilliams7560]

😂😂😂

[@naveenarora6467]

I pity ur wife😂😆

[@goofygrandlouis6296]

probably bad

[@3vimages471]

Well that person in the 1930's is at least 96 years old now so you're probably better.

[@_Thoughtful_Aquarius_]

Circumcision would be a major factor..... It was, I believe, less common during the 1930's. 😬

[@danielmarks9704]

The 1904 vs 2012 Olympic marathon comparison is complete BS. It is well documented how awful the 1904 St. Louis marathon was. The runners had one water stop, raced in the blazing heat on dirt roads, were chased by wild feral dogs, and almost half of the competitors dropped out.

[@danielmarks9704]

And it's not like all races back then we're like that, it was an anomaly.

[@darkesttimeline7026]

Have you seen the Pretty Good episode from Jon Bois too????

[@36424567254]

But isn't his point in the rest of the presentation that we are in fact NOT improving athletic performance per se by much, but rather a plethora of other related factors? The example at the start seems just a way to set up high expectations and then turn them around.

[@mak00ileven]

Daniel Marks that was his point actually. Conditions now are more optimal

[@pillbox1240]

Daniel Marks agreed. Half didn’t finish, the other half got drunk, and I think a few were mugged.

[@buri461]

Bloody amazing! Such a great speaker, great use of voice, humour, tonality and cool calm and collective! Such a great use of visual aids but didn't distract from the main topic!

[@thecakeredux]

Incredible presentation style, thanks a lot.

[@sdsaba]

The only thing I didn’t like it that he picked the 1904 Olympics for the marathon. That is the slowest marathon ever, and it isn’t a good pick for comparison.

[@leenasty23]

Truly interesting. Does this guy have his own channel or something? I feel he makes great videos and would like to binge on them hahaha. Also, is there any other TedTalks that are sports related?

[@lancelotray]

message me if you found some. I'm as interested as you.

[@johnvatkevich2259]

www.amazon.com/Sports-Gene-Extraordinary-Athletic-Performance/dp/161723012X

[@namesake7139]

John Vatkevich I got the book

[@KingSalvy]

E C3 about to order

[@namesake7139]

KingSalv34 let me know what you think

[@dstorm7752]

Also, modern athletes are on various hard-to-detect juicing regimens...

[@cluckendip]

In other words - well yes, but actually yes

[@maxfriis]

Why use feet when speaking about something as metric as the 100 meter run?

[@Kleo3392]

Because most non-athletic Americans don’t have a good concept of meters, but they do of feet.

[@AMJ22222]

Kleo3392 You do realize that most NBA, NFL, MLB, and other American sport's athletes would most likely not know the metric system right? And yes the simple answer is that Americans use the Imperial system such wow.

[@stevensteven3417]

Too bad for the americans that the ancient greeks used meters and not this feet crap.

[@stevensteven3417]

Its about time to let the imperial system go. You are not an english colony any longer and to join the rest of the world, you also managed to drive left didnt you.

[@maxfriis]

Bit too relativistic for me +Lois Loon. There are tons of apologetic videos and they all give bad reasons for the imperial system. The best point are something like giving home industries a competitive edge (also known as protectionism). With respect to house construction researchers have looked at the cost in materials from cutting things wrong because of the imperial system and it's significant. I'm glad to hear that this is changing and it's not a surprise the first place it has changed is hospitals because in hospitals the imperial system used to cost lives.

[@KieranRogers1]

Not watched the video, but seen this in my recommendations and I'm absolutely gutted its not called 'Are athletes really getting harder, better, faster, stronger?'

[@PFAlt]

Yeah, how daft of them.

[@davidwuhrer6704]

Punks.

[@pugsnhogz]

^ I like all of you

[@godofchaos6154]

I just listened to a remix of this. Ya'll savage.

[@joelf0318]

You'll be ok Kieran. After all, what doesn't kill you makes your stronger.

[@asian432]

If this talk had been in 1936. Imagine sports science and technology today.

[@gavrielgavriel]

To be honest this is the best lecture on sport I have ever heard. I always thought like this, but I was never able to give as many examples. All of them are the simple laws of physics, but there's too much buzz about the athletes as THE REAL FIGHTERS AND THE REAL WINNERS therefore I was shy to speak. There's definitely a great significance of this lecture more for those people who are no winners at all but they know the value of sport and practice it all the time. They are always under some pressure of those "tough guys"="champions"="winners" I always looks at as jokes)))) I practice sport for all my life and I'm 49 now and this lecture lets me laugh at them even more. G-d gave you the body so run, but don't tell me that since you run faster you exert yourself more, you are kind more of the human. You have the better physics))))))))))))))

[@philtrem]

That was a really good and interesting talk, but how can you leave out performance enhancing drugs? He spends only a second on it, as if it wasn't significant.

[@KareezyG]

agreed

[@thatabbyrose2396]

Agreed. You can't really talk about the evolution of sports without mentioning the evolution and proliferation of PEDs in more than a just brief sentence, especially since we've become a culture obsessed with faster, bigger, stronger, and our athletes rise to that demand by steroids or "TRT exemptions" (although that loophole is getting closed in many sports, thank God).

[@zachyusuf8434]

Why would he state the obvious?

[@erozionzeall6371]

because they're forbidden for competitive sports

[@deschain1910]

Well, what he's talking about is supported by data. There probably aren't widespread statistical studies and data about drug usage and their exact effects on performance numbers, so it would have been difficult to present.

[@RafaelCruzPodcast]

This talk seems to ignore the elephant in the room, athletes are professionals in today's age (even though he mentions it briefly). The stress, recovery adaptation cycle of suitable anatomic structures will yield improved performance. Yes, technology plays a remarkable role in sports, as does nutrition, supplementation and better medical care of athletes. He didn't mention the ways in which athletes come back from potential career ending injuries due to medical advancements. As a coach, I would be really careful to credit any single factor as the driving force.

[@36424567254]

i would instead say all such factor are *further* proof that we are in fact barely progressing athletic performance per se at all, which is what i had gathered from the presentation.

[@opahmar]

And the limitation to the measuring technology back then? How accurate to the millisecond? How legit was the time keeping, or the measurement? Like he said, in a sport such as sprinting, a few milliseconds is eternity.

[@Herr2Cents]

Someone should do a comparison of an elite runner sprinting on a cinder track vs an Olympic track today and record it.

[@Themsbeatlesrock]

Im interested in what he said about the Kenyan runners having really long legs due to their climate/ environment. I wanna know more about how our climate/environment impacted/impacts our physiology. Cuz we all look so different and Ive always wanted to know why! Anybody know any good books? This stuff is fascinating !!!!’

[@ironvanguard7219]

Work it harder make it better, do it faster, makes us stronger, more than ever hour after our work is never over.

Daft Punk ftw!

[@MadMax-dr6mf]

Bang on. I've thought the same for years: that increase in performance compared to former years was due to equipment, technology, the fact that more now participate, psychology and professionalism. Jess Owen accomplished his feats, breaking 3-4 world records in half an hour and winning 4 golds in Berlin, while a full time law student with a job and only an hour a day to train. In a college at Cambridge University there's a square coutyard with a perimeter of about a quarter mile. For over 800 years people have tried to run this in the time it takes the clock overlooking it to strike 12. Only one man ever has, and it wasn't Harold Abrahams as shown in Chariots of Fire. (That scene, incidentally, was shot at Eton College near Windsor.) In the early 1980s, Steve Ovett and Seb Coe, at the height of their powers, we're invited to try it in front of press and cameras. Neither could. The man who did it was some student back in 1928. Ninety years ago! At a time when athletes ran for recreation for a few years before they had to settle down to their jobs and raise families. I believe that if you brought those guys into the modern world and gave them all the benefits and advantages of modern training under modern coaches that they'd leave your Bolts and Phelps trailing in their wake.

[@NazReidFan]

MadMax382 so u are saying athletes have got worse over time?

[@lyingriotman2220]

@@NazReidFan Better? Worse? Neither is very likely. Extraordinary talents come and go. It's disheartening to think of all brilliant athletes, scientists, engineers, doctors, and artists who never found their true calling. The people who figure out what they're good at while they're young are the lucky ones, but not necessarily more talented/gifted than others.

[@gotheDLsummertour]

Settle down. Athletes are better, albeit with tech eg shoes, surface, methods, but undeniably athletes are stronger and faster now. Owens vs bolt, any surface any time? Bolt by 8 metres. All money on it.

[@TheChris403]

One of the best Ted talks that I've seen. 100 percent interesting from start to finish.

[@sempergumby3929]

"He who wins of a sudden some noble prize in the rich years of his youth is raised high with hope. He has in his heart what is better than wealth; his manhood takes wings. But brief is the season of man's delight. Soon it falls to the ground; some decision uproots it. Thing of a day, such is man, the shadow of a dream, but when God-given splendor visits him, a bright radiance plays over him...and how sweet is life." - A victory ode of Pindar Plz forgive any errors as I have cited this from an imperfect memory.