I'm seeing this comparison all over the place, but I'll just quote this, which came in the email after one of the several posts I'd written about Biles.
A reader named Leland wrote:
Hi Althouse— great golfers often get the yips, the inability to execute the movements necessary to strike the ball—which is just sitting there, isn’t it—in a way necessary to get it in the hole. Tom Watson and Ben Hogan are examples of Greats who lost the ability to make short putts. Ian Baker Finch lost his game completely. Baseball players can get the yips, too—think of Chuck Knobloch and Steve Sax, who suddenly couldn’t control short throws to first. Simone Biles, after years of performing at the highest level, has got the yips. I give her high marks for honesty and realism in this moment. It is startling to see it happen at the Olympics when she was doing the impossible earlier this year, but this is a story familiar to anyone who follows golf or baseball.
Maybe there are some similarities. Who understands the mysteries of the connection between the mind and the body and what happens in the cases of the most accomplished and focused human beings?
But I just want to sketch out the differences:
1. Professional golfers are mature adults. Women's gymnastics is a girls' sport. Little girls are selected and trained, their body and mind are shaped to this performance. At adulthood, the body is past peak for gymnastics purposes, and the mind, still growing into maturity, has new reason to surge past the gymnastics-specific format that had been drummed into the girl since early childhood.
2. Unlike golf, gymnastics is extremely dangerous, and the mind must not interfere with the task. Unlike the "yips" in golf, a normal mind in an adult body rationally rebels against the demands of gymnastics. The yips are interesting because they happen when the thing that needs to be done is easy.
3. Professional golfers own themselves. They are independent contractors, entering tournaments in the hope of winning big money. The stakes affect the mind, and it's tough to control, and sometimes something called the "yips" intrudes. But it's the pressure, not any danger, that leads to a mind-body screwup, and the golfer has absolute confidence that it's all worth it for that money that will be his if he prevails. The worst that can happen is that he goes home with a lot less money (or no money at all). But the young gymnast is in it because adults trained and encouraged her. Their ambitions are mixed up with hers in a complex way, and they've led her down a very dangerous path. She hasn't owned herself, and she doesn't get a direct and huge payout for her performance on any given day. Yes, there is an amorphous economic reward in the future. But it's not the golfer's immediate this-for-that.
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14 comments:
K sent this comment on yesterday's post — which compared Biles to Michael Jordan — but I'm putting it here — even though the comparison is to basketball (and football) rather than golf:
"There's one difference between Simone Biles and these NCAA or NFL figures and that is that for the men their sport requires that they be physically ideal grown men - muscular, fast, quick-thinking, enduring, full-grown men - whereas gymnastics is a sport for the body of a girl and the physically ideal grown woman probably cannot even do gymnastics at a high level. But the Olympics people seem to have just disregarded this fact and built publicity around this woman, Simone Biles, 24 years old pretending to be 14. It's pathetic in a way to think of all the people whose livelihoods came to depend on this woman doing stunts as if she were still a girl - and she knew it. But who was there protecting her?"
And why is she only 4'8"? How did that happen? Did the sport stunt her growth? Here is a sport that works best for a tiny body. We need to ask why. What are we deriving our entertainment from? If it's not the physically ideal grown woman or man, we ought to question the wholesomeness of the endeavor.
Leland writes:
"Hi Althouse—interesting analysis by you, as always. Do you think that it is an important fact that Simone Biles is 24, which is old for an American female gymnast?"
I say:
Absolutely. I hope that shows through in the post. She got older. I think she wanted to show that she is even more the greatest of all time when she could do it even at that age. But even she could not. (Another thing about that is that she trained for the 2020 Olympics, then got the news that it wouldn't happen until 2021. According to The Daily podcast, this had a big emotional impact on her.)
Back to Leland:
"She has been doing this for a long time. Yes, what she does is physically dangerous, which makes her honesty about her mental state even more important to her and to her fans. She knows herself well enough to know that she doesn’t have it right now. Maybe she wants to retire. Who knows? This is only remarkable because it is happening at the Olympics and she has been so good for so long. And I would argue that professional golfers—or second basemen throwing out a batter at first base—are just as exposed as gymnasts attempting a difficult routine. They have to execute perfectly at the immediate instant. When the mind-body connection is lost, the results can be horrifying to the athlete that is used to doing difficult things routinely and easily. Read the Wikipedia article about Ian Baker Finch and you can see the same thing happening to him in slow motion."
I'll say:
Not sure what "just as exposed" means. It can't mean exposed to injury. The gymnast who loses her way in the air could fall on her head and die or be paralyzed. There is pretty much no physical danger in golf. What? An alligator might crawl up out of the pond? Your knees slowly get bad?
Back to Leland:
"My bottom line is that what is happening to Simone Biles is unfortunate but not unusual, and it usually does not occur in the hothouse of the Olympics. High marks to her for being so forthright about it."
A reader who wants to be anonymous writes:
"Regarding the "yips" in sports it's considered similar to a condition called focal dystonia, which is an actual disorder.
"For musicians, it can ruin a career. There's a guitarist named Billy McLaughlin (who is really quite wonderful - you should check him out) who developed focal dystonia and had to completely relearn to play the guitar. If you look at how he plays now it's quite different to standard guitar playing, which is how he had started out.
"It speaks to the capability of the human mind to overcome things like this. In sports, a somewhat similar story is that of Rick Ankiel, a pitcher who unravelled in real-time during a playoff game. He remade himself as an outfielder and made the majors again in a completely different position. It is a phenomenally difficult task to make the major leagues. To do it twice in different positions is that much more difficult and is an inspiring story."
Roger writes:
I taught 11th grade Honors Physics and the end of this post reminded me of the intense competition to get into a "good college". Of course, doing well in classes, but what classes and how much effort to put in, what extracurriculars, what community service. Should I do some research? What should I put in my personal (ha!) essay that the colleges will want to hear?
[A]dults trained and encouraged her? Check.
Their ambitions are mixed up with hers in a complex way? Check
[S]he doesn't get a direct and huge payout for her performance on any given day? Check.
[T]here is an amorphous economic reward in the future? Check.
She hasn't owned herself? To a significant extent, yes. She (or he!) has been told for years that she has to go to a good college. It's part of the air these young people breathe. Most feel they have no choice to engage in the competition.
It isn't as directly dangerous as gymnastics but stress and inadequate sleep are pretty common.
Leland responds:
"Hi Althouse—just to make it clear what I meant by “just as exposed”, a golfer attempting a shot has complete responsibility for his or her performance in that instant. Same with an infielder making a routine throw to first base. When that performance is off for some reason, it is a shock to the system that can shake confidence, particularly if the error was both unconscious and gross. In some cases it can lead to erratic performance becoming routine—the yips. As you say, not much danger of physical harm on the golf course. But Simone Biles is not afraid—she is concerned that she cannot do with confidence that which should be thoughtlessly routine, and she properly recognizes that situation could be dangerous. She should not be lionized as “courageous” in this instance. Rather, she should be recognized for her good judgment and realism."
I'll say:
I agree that she's exhibiting good sense, but it can be courageous to break into good sense from the environment where she was immersed. Notice that — again to stress the difference from golf — the golfer never drops out in the middle of the experience that isn't working for him and part of the reason is that he is in zero physical danger.
I'm going to say that Biles was courageous. It was courage in dealing with other people. She faced hardship either way she went, and she could have decided it was better to do the physical routine and fail than to shock and disappoint people.
MJB Wolf writes:
"Three excellent points you made with which I suggest the following paraphrase from Tyrus would fit well.
"Most athletic endeavors are best executed by young people and there comes a time when every elite athlete realizes that they can no longer do their particular skill as well. It’s a difficult moment however and whenever it happens. Sometimes it happens in front of everyone like with boxers who lose their last fight horribly. Few are disciplined enough to back away before a face plant occurs. This might’ve been one of those moments we witnessed.
"I’m sorry I don’t know Tyrus’s last name. I saw him on a bit of Gutfeld the other day and liked his take. Apparently he played football before being a wrestling personality. Wise words."
"I’m sorry I don’t know Tyrus’s last name."
Tyrus is a stage name that doesn't have a last name. His real name is George Murdoch.
Lloyd writes:
"Canada's Pamela Ware was in the 3 metre diving competition, semi-final. First three dives great, fourth not so great but still a strong chance to advance to final. Then, she seems to do the usual approach on fifth dive, gives up and simply jumps in the water. Zero points, out of the competition.
"She explained afterwards that she would sometimes do this in practice--get too far forward on the board. Is there a point where coaches should say: you really shouldn't go to the Olympics?"
Richard R writes:
I am not an expert, just a layman. But I have read that the brain keeps developing until about age 25. That is when a proper sense of risk-taking and reaction to danger is achieved and car companies will rent you one of their cars.
Also, I read this week about the skills needed to use the new-fangled radar in WWII to read the sky and sea for incoming airplanes and torpedoes during a sea battle, and give orders for defending planes to attack and ships to evade torpedoes. In retrospect it turned out that the people who excelled at this were age 24.
We focus on the age we learn to walk, read, drive, drink, and vote. All happens by age 21. But there is another turning point in development at about age 24 or 25. I have never heard this point given a name.
I think Simone Biles just became fully adult.
Paul writes:
"Simon Biles doesn't appear to have the yips, but instead to be facing spacial disorientation. Spacial disorientation is a real and regular problem, and comes up frequently in accidents involving smaller airplanes. (Here's an FAA flyer on the topic: https://www.faasafety.gov/files/notices/2014/Dec/SA17_Spatial_Disorientation.pdf.) It involves situations where a person, usually in the air or in the water, can't figure out where up and down are. It's different from the yips, which appear to have to do with some kind of miscommunication between a stressed mind and the body's movements.
"Simon talked about not knowing where in the air she was, or what part of her body was going to land, and then she said she had the "twistys." Those seem like classic examples of spacial disorientation. I've seen very little discussion of spacial disorientation, but it seems like the most obvious explanation of what she was facing, and one that should help us understand her choice to withdraw."
LA_Bob writes:
"It strikes me there's a theme running through some of the recent posts including yesterday's and today's: state of mind.
"Simone Biles's state of mind. Famous golfers' states of mind. Michael Jordan's (which I originally misread as Michael Jackson's) state of mind. Tiger Woods's state of mind. Andrew Sullivan's state of mind. The young Vessel-jumper's state of mind (imagine the leap from "having a blast" to jumping to your death).
"Gordon's comment on the Vessel post left me wondering about my own state of mind. He chose not to climb the Vessel. I like climbing stairs, almost always two steps at a time. I frequently climb 140 stairs at a local park, and I am 66. Would I risk a heart attack while seeking the participation award climbing the Vessel?"
James writes:
"There was also a case of a major league pitcher (a closer, Kevin Saucier) who had some control issues and began to panic at the realization that he could kill someone, which only made the problem worse, and he retired at a young age.
'Young people are fearless and reckless, but as one gets older, the consequences of one's actions (whether for oneself or others) start to become more real. Usually that's a good thing: People start driving more carefully, for example. But where fearlessness is required in a sport, some obviously can't handle it."
policraticus writes:
"I learned something about Biles listening to Joe Rogan that made her decision understandable.
"Simone Biles has ADHD. She's been prescribed Ritalin for years and was taking the medication when she competed in the last Olympics. Ritalin, as I am sure you know, allows someone who might be naturally distractible to focus, sometimes to an extraordinary degree. This is no knock on Biles. As I know from my own daughter, ADHD is a real thing and my daughter's medication has allowed her to achieve and be successful despite her brain's proclivity to race off on various tangents.
"Japan proscribes all ADHD medication, like Ritalin and Adderal. So, to compete in the Games, Biles had to stop taking her medication. If there was nothing at stake, I doubt Biles would even notice. But with everything at stake? And with the consequences of losing focus being not just losing the medal but perhaps a serious and permanent injury? When you watch the superhuman feats she performs, it isn't hard to imagine someone with her experience and her intimate knowledge of her own mind, being able to judge that, at this time, she didn't have the capacity to continue. I don't think it was "the yips." I think she recognised that she didn't have the focus to hurl her body into the air, twist multiple times, flip multiple times and land perfectly on her feet, and not her head.
"Whether that was due entirely to her not being able to take her medication, who can say? But I think we should be able to recognise that she was the only person who had the direct knowledge to judge the odds and decide whether it was worth the risk of competing and having a catastrophic mishap not only end her career but also end Team USA's chances at any medal at all."
Daniel writes:
"Why do you think female gymnasts are at their peak as girls?
"Is it because that's the way it's always been in a sport rife with deeply abusive, manipulative coaches, systemic child sexual abuse, and the physical destruction of girls rendering them enable to perform by the time they reach maturity?
"Are adolescents at their lifetime peak of strength? Of speed? Of body control? Of flexibility? Or are they just at their peak of controllability? Look at what Bela Lugosi made Kerri Strugg do. Look at how many gymnasts have to retire due to physical collapse -- couldn't this be because their bodies are not yet prepared for the stress that is demanded of them?
"Ballet dancers don't peak at 15. Tennis players don't peak at 15 (and note many fewer turning pro that early these days, compared to the 80s and 90s). Male gymnasts don't peak at 15. Baseball players peak in their late 20s. Basketball, probably mid 20s. Football, mid 20s (for those who survive the punishment long enough).
"In most sports, training regimens, diet and health have substantially improved longevity over the years. Not gymnastics though (with some exceptions like Oksana Chusovitina). I guess it's possible that gymnastics is completely different than every other athletic endeavor.
"Or maybe it's all a bunch of bullshit pushed by control freaks, abusers and traditionalists in positions of power."
I'll say:
I've been interested in this question for many years. I suspect that the sport has been designed around a preference for a particular type of body. Note that unlike with tennis, the males and females are not doing the same thing. The males don't do the balance beam or the uneven bars, and the women don't do rings.
But it may have to do with the difficulty females have holding up their own weight -- the upper body and lower body proportion. Look at Simone Biles. She's 4'8" and has a wide, developed upper body and very little lower body. She can do it at 24. But most women develop hips and thighs that are pretty heavy compared to the arms and shoulders.
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