Running as a Thinking Person’s Sport • Hacker News Board

Re: Running as a Thinking Person’s Sport

#11

Post by eutectic » Thu, Dec 15, 2016, 1:53 AM UTC

gragas wrote: post #7

I hate how much the authors of this article imply causality. >There also, interestingly, was less activity among the runners in a part of the brain that tends to indicate lack of focus and mind wandering. Could it not be that people who have the willpower to run regularly also have the willpower to stay focused? >In essence, the runners seemed to have brains in which certain cognitive skills, including multitasking a…

There are plenty of compelling arguments against excessive running:

1) It is destructive to your joints and tendons. Injury rates are very high among runners.

2) It is stressful, resulting in chronically elevated cortisol levels.

3) It is time consuming and boring (of course this is subjective), and very inefficient at improving fitness.

Re: Running as a Thinking Person’s Sport

#12

Post by russellbeattie » Thu, Dec 15, 2016, 1:54 AM UTC

"There also, interestingly, was less activity among the runners in a part of the brain that tends to indicate lack of focus and mind wandering."

That's also called "thinking". An unfocused, wandering mind is a creative mind.

This article completely reinforces my general opinion of runners tending to be mindless automatons, obsessively rehashing their to-do list and daily schedule while out on their morning jog, before having their extra-foam soy half-caff latte with cinnamon and organic raw agave sweetener and heading out early to 'beat the traffic'.

Einstein wasn't a jogger.

Re: Running as a Thinking Person’s Sport

#13

Post by hiddencost » Thu, Dec 15, 2016, 1:59 AM UTC

russellbeattie wrote: post #12

"There also, interestingly, was less activity among the runners in a part of the brain that tends to indicate lack of focus and mind wandering." That's also called "thinking". An unfocused, wandering mind is a creative mind. This article completely reinforces my general opinion of runners tending to be mindless automatons, obsessively rehashing their to-do list and daily schedule while out on their morning jog, befor…

I've had some of my most rambly mental explorations running. This probably isn't in my favor, but I've patented stuff I've come up with while running. Your hostility seems pretty clearly rooted in your own prejudices.

Re: Running as a Thinking Person’s Sport

#14

Post by samirillian » Thu, Dec 15, 2016, 2:05 AM UTC

eutectic wrote: post #11

gragas wrote: post #7

I hate how much the authors of this article imply causality. >There also, interestingly, was less activity among the runners in a part of the brain that tends to indicate lack of focus and mind wandering. Could it not be that people who have the willpower to run regularly also have the willpower to stay focused? >In essence, the runners seemed to have brains in which certain cognitive skills, including multitasking a…

There are plenty of compelling arguments against excessive running: 1) It is destructive to your joints and tendons. Injury rates are very high among runners. 2) It is stressful, resulting in chronically elevated cortisol levels. 3) It is time consuming and boring (of course this is subjective), and very inefficient at improving fitness.

Pretty sure there have been studies positively correlating running a certain amount with dying younger. I can't imagine sucking in city pollution can be that healthy either. Anecdotally, it helps my anxiety.

Re: Running as a Thinking Person’s Sport

#15

Post by AJ007 » Thu, Dec 15, 2016, 2:18 AM UTC

samirillian wrote: post #14

eutectic wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are plenty of compelling arguments against excessive running: 1) It is destructive to your joints and tendons. Injury rates are very high among runners. 2) It is stressful, resulting in chronically elevated cortisol levels. 3) It is time consuming and boring (of course this is subjective), and very inefficient at improving fitness.

Pretty sure there have been studies positively correlating running a certain amount with dying younger. I can't imagine sucking in city pollution can be that healthy either. Anecdotally, it helps my anxiety.

There is a tendency, from what I've observed, to use running as a way to have a really bad diet and still stay thin. There is a lot of pressure for people in their 20s and 30s who live in urban areas to both look fit and drink heavily. Not a good recipe for long term health.

Re: Running as a Thinking Person’s Sport

#16

Post by projektir » Thu, Dec 15, 2016, 2:27 AM UTC

AJ007 wrote: post #15

samirillian wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pretty sure there have been studies positively correlating running a certain amount with dying younger. I can't imagine sucking in city pollution can be that healthy either. Anecdotally, it helps my anxiety.

There is a tendency, from what I've observed, to use running as a way to have a really bad diet and still stay thin. There is a lot of pressure for people in their 20s and 30s who live in urban areas to both look fit and drink heavily. Not a good recipe for long term health.

Running is not great for losing weight, so I'm having doubts about this one...

Re: Running as a Thinking Person’s Sport

#17

Post by Benjamin_Dobell » Thu, Dec 15, 2016, 2:28 AM UTC

Intellectuals often take up cycling or running, notice the benefits and then claim cycling and running are great for the mind. Kind of makes me wonder if they'd ever exercised before.

As long as I don't completely exhaust myself, I tend to feel much better after I exercise, which includes playing ball sports... I just don't do it nearly as often as I should!

Re: Running as a Thinking Person’s Sport

#18

Post by theobold » Thu, Dec 15, 2016, 2:28 AM UTC

russellbeattie wrote: post #12

"There also, interestingly, was less activity among the runners in a part of the brain that tends to indicate lack of focus and mind wandering." That's also called "thinking". An unfocused, wandering mind is a creative mind. This article completely reinforces my general opinion of runners tending to be mindless automatons, obsessively rehashing their to-do list and daily schedule while out on their morning jog, befor…

And yet, Turing was.

Re: Running as a Thinking Person’s Sport

#19

Post by notacoward » Thu, Dec 15, 2016, 2:32 AM UTC

It might be significant that the study was on distance runners (though it's not clear what they mean by that). Road running definitely requires a lot more situational awareness and decision making than track running. Uneven roads or sidewalks require instant reaction, especiall with snow/ice in winter. Cars, bikes, walkers, dogs, etc. can come from all directions and must be accounted for. Following a route and pacing for uphills/downhills also requires at least a little bit of thought. Trail running is even more challenging in some of these areas, though less in others. Running around a track is comparatively simple. It would be interesting to see how much - if any - of these effects exist for that kind of running.

Re: Running as a Thinking Person’s Sport

#20

Post by blt » Thu, Dec 15, 2016, 2:33 AM UTC

The first part of the article contrasts running against sports that stress hand-eye coordination and decision making. The author claims that the connection between those sports and overall cognitive performance is more obvious. But the scientific study only compare runners against sedentary people. We don't know how running compares to basketball, etc. on these metrics. The running/cognition correlation is presented as surprising, but it would be a lot less surprising if a stronger version of the same link existed for decision-based sports. The speculation about running->cognition causality should be kept to a minimum until there is data on other sports for comparison.