Shenk mentions how important practicing is on the changing of the body," Researchers have recorded a constellation of physical changes...in the muscles, nerves, hearts,lungs, and brains of those showing profound increases in skill level in any domain( 65)."
Why do you think practice so important to Shenk's argument? Is there proof of mental and physical changes in the body from practice? Also why is it that some people have to practice for a longer period of time to get the same task done, while for other's it's more simpler? How does practice change parts of our body as Shenk mentions and how does evolution play a role in this? Support(using biological theme) and give examples.
Practice makes perfect, the age old quote is proven true through science. There is certainly proof that the body adjust to physical and mental challenges that a person goes through on a daily basis. The growth of the brain is easily seen when comparing the size of the brain of an infant compared to a pre-schooler. The amount of information that an infant learns everyday from different kinds of stimulation, which then promotes the growth of the brain. Shenk even used the example of taxi drivers that worked in London for years have shown a greatly enlarged posterior hippocampus (Shenk 35). Cognitive mapping and memory was used to remember all the streets and avenues in London to drive easily and faster to a location.
ReplyDeleteAnother example that Shenk uses to prove this statement is the study of the identical twins. Identical twins have the same DNA and therefore should have a similar body type right? But again the environment strongly influences the twins. On page 83, Shenk intrudes the identical twins Otto and Ewald who “had trained intensively for different athletic advantages”. When comparing the skinny Otto and the extremely muscular Ewald it would have been hard to guess that they were twins. Through constant training the body of Otto changed to support him to become an amazing long distance runner. As long runner the Otto’s cardiovascular system was stressed to provide all the cells with the necessary oxygen and nutrients levels. The heart became stronger due to the conditioning during exercising (http://www.florahearts.com.mt/Consumer/Article.aspx?Path=Consumer/KnowYourHeart/HowExerciseAffectsYourHeart/Home). Compare Otto to his brother Ewald who needed to practice for the strength events. The exercises he did build up his shoulder, chest, and arm muscles to become stronger. Repetitive motion on a the same muscle groups would make those muscle groups bigger and stronger (http://www.helium.com/items/1204069-strength-training-weight-lifting-benefits-of-strength-training-muscle-metabolism).
When thinking about why some people can become more fit faster and easier then other people factors like diet and amount of sleep should be considered. A person who eats unhealthy and works out will not receive the same results as a person who eats healthy and exercises the same amount. What should not be overlooked in the genes are the X and the Y chromosomes. The hormonal differences between the two sexes separate how well and big the muscles will build up. Naturally man can build up muscle because they have the testosterone hormones which contribute to muscle build up. Contrasting this woman do not have this hormone and therefore cannot achieve the same physical effects even if everything else like diet is controlled (http://www.livestrong.com/article/356452-is-it-harder-for-women-to-build-muscle/).
The reason why woman and man are extremely different comes from the evolutionary needs from both sexes. Thinking back to the cave men, women were not considered the fighters or hunters in their communities. Instead women’s job through a biological lens was to give birth to a child and raise him or her with the help of the man. This relates to the idea of relationship between structure and function. The muscles in women did not have the need to become big and strong because their everyday jobs did not challenge them this way. In contrast to that man needed to be muscular to provide food for the family to continue living. The physical demands on the man were harder, therefore large and stronger muscles benefitted the man.
Ayana Dambaeva (adambaeva@gmail.com)
Shenk's main point or thesis of his book is that we, as humans, can never reach our full potential, but we do all have enough potential to be a genius or close to one. One of the main components of learning and growing, whether it be intellectually or athletically, as Shenk emphasizes, is practice. He stresses that we need to stop using word like "innate" or "natural born" because these concepts don't exist. Whether we believe it or not, people like Mozart and Michael Jordan worked and practiced very long and hard to get to where they did in their careers. We like to think that these men were geniuses because of extreme talent, but "talent is not the cause but the result of something" (Shenk 60).
ReplyDeleteAs Ayana states, practice changes us physically and mentally. Vigorous sports obviously change athletes' muscle mass and cardiovascular fitness while chess players learn how to "remember hundreds of intricate chess positions in sequence" (65). Michael had to strengthen certain parts of his body and improve other aspects such as flexibility and quickness to most effectively play basketball. As a figure skater, I have to do different classes to strengthen different parts of my body, too. Ballet increases my flexibility, weight training increases my muscular strength in my legs and arms, and pilates increase my butt and ab muscles. So after years of training different areas of my body, I see definite changes in my body's shape, strength, and movement. Practice also affects us mentally. As Shenk states, "even among athletes, changes in the brain are arguably the most profound, with a vast increase in precise task knowledge, a shift from conscious analysis to intuitive thinking" (65-66). So whether it be practicing soccer or math, the constant strive to improve helps us gain things such as the ability to manage our time and the knowledge of how to save our body's energy. With the repetition of practice, we also start to realize more about our body and its limits, strengths, and weaknesses (http://www.6dsports.com/). With years of hard practicing, Michael learned his body's limits, how far he could push himself without getting hurt, which is a very important information to know. He learned how to be mentally tough when other players taunted him or his coach yelled at him. Again with my skating, my practice time takes up a large chunk of my time, so I have to learn how to do my homework and chores efficiently to be able to fit everything in throughout the day.
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ReplyDeleteSome people have improved at something such as a sport much faster than another. These two may practice the same amount everyday and both be equally passionate about the sport, but one seems to be ahead of the other. The real reason why the person improving faster seems to be better at the sport than the other is that the faster improving athlete practiced smarter. "It takes a special kind of practice to force your mind and body into the kind of change necessary to improve" (66). You have to be smart when practicing a sport as well as an intellectual activity. In skating, if a skater is practicing a new jump, he or she has to stop and think about what he or she did right or wrong after each attempt to help themselves improve on the next attempt. Blindly skating around and trying the jump over and over again, falling on every attempt, doesn't get a skater anywhere. They will never land the jump unless they change something about the jump to improve it. The intensity of practice is also crucial to improve. A runner who takes two five minute resting periods during a run is eventually going to improve their running skills and cardiovascular fitness faster than a runner who takes five eight minute resting periods. I also agree with Ayana in that body structure and health plays a big factor in the rate of someone's improvement from practice.
During evolution, the human body structure and muscle mass have changed depending on what we made our bodies do. As Ayana explained, the body of a man and woman are very different, men being able to build muscle much more easily than women, and women having a different skeletal shape, larger fat content, and different hormones than men. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Female_body_shape). Since as far back as we can tell, women have always been in charge of all the household chores and child care taking while the men hunted and built huts. Because of these different roles in society, the bodies of the two genders evolved to better fit and benefit them and their role. Men evolved to be born with more muscle and capable of faster muscle strengthening while women evolved to be born with more fat and grow wider hips to help the birthing process. The evolution of body types have changed how each body changes with practice.
Lili Malone (lilimalone@ameritech.net)