Faster Higher Smarter: Bright Ideas That Transformed Sports

Faster Higher Smarter: Bright Ideas That Transformed Sports — page 1
INTRODUCTION Faster Higher Stronger That’s the motto of the Olympic Games and it’s a great one It captures the idea that humans can and should push themselves to new heights and be the best they can possibly be But is it possible that the motto is missing something important a word that can help us not only reach those heights but soar beyond them Since we can’t just change the Olympic motto with the snap of a finger we gave this book the title of Faster Higher Smarter When it comes to athletic achievement smart is often overlooked It shouldn’t be Sure there are athletes who have a ton of natural talent and athletes who train harder than the rest And they’re amazing In fact they often break records but usually by just a fraction This book is about people who are even more amazing the innovators whose ideas changed sports by a lot Some were great athletes Others were just average And one was awful but he sure loved and changed two different sports Some weren’t athletes at all They were scientists and farmers teachers and security guards and bright kids who just experimented and discovered things But that’s only half the story If you think that sports are fun and science is dull you have another think coming Whether the innovators knew it or not science is the secret behind most of their work And once you understand the science behind what’s going on you’ll look at sports differently 4