Science III

If you took the time and read the previous posts, you may wonder why the science bar is set so high. You may also wonder how many "scientists" really practice science as defined here. To wit, I used to joke that any discipline with "science" in its name was not scientific at all. Like political science, social science, computer science, brain science, etc. I stopped telling that joke because I found people tend to react rather violently and fail to see the point. Given the status (and money involved) of science in our society, people do not like to be told their work is not "scientific." Add to that that the majority of the population equates science and truth and you can see why this joke is like saying "I have a bomb" in the airport.

Fine, but what about having the bar set high? Why is that necessary? It is because people are very easily fooled. I say people, because it is a characteristic of all people, regardless of their intelligence, upbringing, social status, etc. All people are easily fooled and they are experts at fooling themselves. Everyone has ideas, things they learned or experienced, prejudices, opinions, fears, that are based on spurious associations, hearsay, peer pressure, personal experience (often misinterpreted) etc. Scientists are no different from any other person in this respect. They are just as likely to be religious, believe in the afterlife, be afraid of ghosts, as anyone else.

Second, many people have an agenda. Some have a very active and explicit agenda, but even those who don't often have to prove something to the world. They are motivated to prove something to themselves and to others. They are driven to make a point or simply to be right about something. Such biases are even more explicit when it comes to behavior, nutrition, health, performance, etc. The more it affects people's daily lives, the stronger the biases are. Most people can be pretty neutral about gravity, but when it comes to what food is good for you, hardly anyone is without a preset opinion.

Third, there is a lot of money at stake, and money has an agenda. Once again this is more applicable to health, medicine, and nutrition than to abstract things in the physical world. Modern science is especially dependent on money and money does not come free. It exerts a noticeable influence at all levels. From the types of research that is "fundable," i.e. a couple of decades ago you could not propose any research that would imply or might find differences between the genders, to the findings of such research, i.e. many people tried to suppress the work on helicobacter and stomach ulcers; to the endless ongoing research into side-effects of birth control pills, circumcision and sexually transmitted disease, etc. that is doubtlessly motivated to prove and support a certain point of view.

Fourth, science is based on and requires open communication and free exchange of information. That does not sit well with those who aim to gain an advantage, as is true from the military all the way down to the sports competitor. One might even argue the lay person looking for health info is trying to get an edge. But conducting science in secrecy is not really possible. I know you will quickly point out all the secret government research, including the Manhattan project. When doing so it is easy to forget that the Manhattan project was mostly about engineering, not science. Once again, many will quickly take issue with this claim, not because they know it to be true or not, but because they view science as more prestigious than engineering. Or because they don't want to be known as engineers (yes folks there is a pecking order here).

Much of what goes under the label science is nothing but engineering, or empirical discovery. Guess what, there is nothing wrong with that. Science is not the only way to discover truths about nature. If anything, science is definitely the slowest (and from a practical perspective) the most inefficient way to discover new things. Many, taking a serious look at the "war on cancer" have come to that conclusion. And they are right. There is not really a scientific way to find a cure for a disease. You can do a lot of science about organisms, diseases, etc. but that is a very round-about and long process. Penicillin for example was not discovered in a scientific experiment. It was confirmed in a scientific experiment, but it was discovered by accident. And that is the way most discoveries are made.

If you want to find something new, better not do science. Better poke around, look around, and do so without any prejudice or forethought. Better think crazy thoughts and do things people wouldn't do. That is how discoveries are made. By pushing the envelope and questioning the obvious.

Health and a word of caution

Although there is no doubt that endurance racers are, on average, in much better health than the sedentary adult population, it is equally certain that theirs is not the optimal health strategy. In other words, if you primary motivation is to get healthier or lose weight, you should probably focus on becoming more active but stay well short of racing. Racing is a stressful activity and as such it carries a certain amount of risk. You should not engage in racing unless you are willing to accept that risk.

Any emergency room doctor will tell you that competitive sports lead to increased injuries. Sometimes the injuries are caused by outside forces, as when cyclists come in contact with traffic, or when golfers or climbers get hit by lightening. At other times, collisions with competitors are to blame. More often though, accidents and injuries are intrinsic to the practice of the sport and they happen even without contact with other competitors. Sometimes they happen without a distinct or well defined incident. We all heard of shoulder injuries in swimmers, tennis elbow, shin splints, iliotibial band, achilles tendonitis, and the like. 

All activities can lead to injuries, but endurance sports are especially likely to cause overuse injury. Always ramp up slowly and prepare properly for any endurance event. However, be forewarned that even the most careful and best trained athletes do get injuries occasionally. And some injuries can cause permanent damage or even death. Deaths have occurred in all segments of ironman races. Deaths occur in swim races, marathons, and double centuries. Some popular prescriptions such as drinking a lot have given rise to deaths so be careful who you listen to and when.

Athletes can be more susceptible to infection, and certain cardiac ailments. Some will develop heart rhythm disorders or aggravate existing but subclinical ones. These can lead to sudden death. But perhaps the greatest danger to the heart comes from cardiomyopathy and cardiac hypertrophy with insufficiency. These conditions develop insidiously and are often only diagnosed when it is too late. It is hard to predict who is at risk, other than to look at family histories. Echocardiograms are of some use but early signs are often missed. Over time, genetic or other tests may become available, but it seems likely that all tests will do is give you some likelihood of developing the condition. It will still be up to you to decide what to do.

The bottom line is that endurance racing, as any other human endeavor entails risk. Checkups and tests can be done to minimize that risk, but none will ever eliminate it. Tests and diagnostic procedures produce false negatives, and occasionally people die who were given the all clear weeks earlier.

It is ultimately your decision and your responsibility. You should never engage in racing unless you are aware of and willing to accept the risks. Be aware that the more you push yourself, the riskier things get. Also be aware that everyone is different, and that some things may make one person stronger, while making another sicker. Statistics are good at predicting overall behavior but their application to individual cases is minimal and often misleading.

You have been warned.