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Recently I was learning about attribution theory, and how it relates to sports. Attribution theory relates to how and why people explain events in the way they do. This becomes self-serving attribution theory when we look at people’s success and failure. You are responsible for your own success – for example, athletes (particularly male athletes) … Continue reading
My dragon boat team had an awesome festival this weekend. Our placement was good, but more than that we performed some amazing starts and showed really good focus through most of the races. But I got to thinking about focus and what improves or reduces our ability to focus on the specific task we are … Continue reading
Watching the Olympics it is interesting to see the pre- and post-performance rituals that many athletes perform and think about all the ones we don’t know of. Canadian diver Jennifer Abel talked about her ritual with her chamois before she dives, and the fact that she keeps the same chamois for an entire Olympic cycle. Other athletes … Continue reading
Drafting is something that you hear about in a number of different sports. Basically, when you draft, you sit very close behind someone else (and by sit I mean paddle, swim, bike, run, etc). The idea is that you spend less energy than the person at the front. But how does this work? A … Continue reading
So, I have heard that swearing increases pain tolerance. The MythBusters even did an episode on this. It’s an interesting effect. Basically, the original study tested how long people could keep their hand in ice water while reciting non-swear words vs swear words. Swearing increased pain tolerance, decreased pain perception, and increased heart rate. Another study … Continue reading
This is a personal opinion but something I have been thinking about for a while. I have taught a number of different science courses and I’ve taught and researched environmental education. One of my biggest goals in these settings is to teach skills. I believe that people need to a) know to ask questions, b) … Continue reading
I saw this interesting article about installing floating photovoltaics on Lake Mead and Lake Powell in the U.S. as a means of generating power using renewables and reducing some of the significant evaporation from the two lakes. It makes sense that the solar panels will generate electricity, but I’m curious about two of the claims: 1) how much … Continue reading
When you are learning new skills it makes sense that you learn one before you learn the next, but I find this is rarely how we do things in practice. As a figure skater I was always learning multiple skills: jumps, spins, field moves, and edges were all part of lessons and practice sessions. Learning … Continue reading
Ask anyone who knows me, I am not a morning person. I’m grumpy, I don’t want to talk to anyone, and I’m mostly dysfunctional. At the same time, I like going into work early. I get lots done once I’m up and going and it saves my evening for all my different activities. So when … Continue reading
We have two systems that provide energy when we exercise: anaerobic (without oxygen) and aerobic (with oxygen). In really simple terms, we use the anaerobic system during short bouts of exercise. The aerobic system takes over after about 90 seconds. The major difference is what waste product gets produced. They both break down glucose but … Continue reading
Connecting with Science 