Thursday, March 25, 2010

Fractions of A Second

Some times it's easy to forget why we worry about some of the things we do.  For many Olympic sports, even though there are world championships and other importat events, an un-believable amount of power is placed on the Olympic Games.  You can be the world champion, but it's still not the same to many as the Olympic Gold medalist.

The recent vancouver Olympic Games remind us of this since many sports are timed and it's tiny fractions of a second difference.  Even in sports like downhill, over all that difference and dynamic conditions, the difference between Gold and Silver can be miniscule.  Even more intense can be the difference between Bronze and no medal (4th) which some see as a loss.

This piece from the New York Times illustrates this in and audible format to put it in perspective.