Outliers : Story Of Success, And The Sports Gene, By David Epstein

In Epstein’s story, “The Sports Gene,” a young man named Donald Thomas started high jumping quite suddenly, and was still able to beat all of the competition, who had much more practice and dedication to the sport. After he is named the best in the world, scientist study him to figure out how an amateur beat the professionals. They found out that he was born with a large Achille’s tendon, which allows him to jump with much more ease and meant that he didn’t need as much practice. “Tendon length is not significantly impacted by training”(Epstein 16). This had been just a root of Thomas’s talent and it was completely out of his control, meaning in Thomas’s case, what happened in his life then was not in his control so much

In the article “The sports Gene” Written by David Epstein published by the penguin group talks is about how an individual’s athletic success is depended on your genes. How much of what happens in our lives do we actually control? In our lives we can’t control everything that happens because things happen in our lives.

How much of our lives do we actually control ? Everyone has and will always have different outlooks on this question that can’t possibly be proven, we can solely try to persuade and convince each other otherwise.For example two authors had two different viewpoints on this controversial question.David Epstein, author of The Sports Gene, argues that physical ability formed at birth out ways hard work and success achieved through years of practice.The opposing author William Ernest Henley wrote a poem called Invictus that is strong and powerful to anyone that reads it, claiming that you are the master of your own destiny. These are both reasonable claims but I believe William Ernest Henry has a more convincing argument therefore he better answers the question, How much of our lives do we actually control ?

A person’s genes are ultimately determined by their parents. Each person has two copies of a specific gene, one from their mother and one from their father. Even though both of the genes received are technically for the same trait, they can be alleles (or variants) of the gene (Chakraborty 1). This explains why all people look and act differently, even though we ultimately have the same basic genetic structure. Each unique allele that a person has will determine the type of athlete they can become, as well as their abilities (1). Tom Brutsaert and Esteban Parra, anthropologists and co-authors of “Genetics and Sports: Nature versus Nurture in Determining Athletic Ability” identify things like muscle strength and power, aerobic capacity, muscle fiber types, response to training, and body size and composition as decidedly heritable factors (11). However, simply having specific genes does not necessarily mean that they will be expressed in any certain positive outcome (Chakraborty 2). Combinations of genes are important in determining which will be expressed and which will not, as some genes will only function in congruence with others (2). Therefore, even possessing the correct gene

His survival is heavily influenced by every choice he makes, from ignoring the exhortations to escape impending danger to choosing to stay with his father in spite of difficulties. His experience with the Holocaust directly shapes his role as a frontline fighter for recognition of Holocaust victims. In moving to Canada, I also shaped my role in society. My skills, such as playing sports; hobbies, such as reading; and characteristics, such as persistence and studious attitude have all developed due to my moving to Canada. My exposure to a life so plentiful in opportunities has also caused me to take many things for granted. Events in people’s lives shape who they become. Some of these circumstances are brought about by the decisions of others, while the majority of occurrences are caused by deliberate choices. These decisions can shape destiny in a life-or-death situation or a can be like a small, yet equally profound, choice to smile at a stranger. While some decisions are out of one’s hands, a conscious effort to have a positive outlook on life can still influence destiny. Like a rudder, daily decisions made with a positive mentality can steer people to a prosperous life. It does not do well to dwell on what may have happened, but rather on how the life one creates can be consequential in further extending the development of

The question people have been asking forever is; How much of what happens in our lives do we actually control? Two articles try to respond to this puzzling question, “The Sports Gene” and “The Outliers”. “The Sports Gene” by David Epstein is about a high school student named Donald Thomas trying high jump for the first time, and eventually becomes the world champion. “The Outliers” by Malcolm Gladwell is about studies and experiments proving that hours of practice lead to success. Of the two articles, “The Outliers” best answers the question of how much control do we have of our lives, because it uses more reliable sources and scientists and experiments to support their answer.

He sees the validity of this claim, however, declares that this only gives limited knowledge, in that there is much more to this. There are many other factors factoring into athletic performance, not simply genetics. With this, he shows how these athletes followed the 10,000-hour rule, demonstrating that deliberate practice was needed to perform as well as they did. These athletes dedicated large amounts of training and dedication in order to reach the success they did. This success was not simply achieved due to their genetics, it was rather nurtured through their practice. While Gladwell believes in the idea that blacks are generally better athletes than whites, he also believes that hard work is the most important thing for someone who wants to be good at a sport. His theory is that hard work and drive are more important than someone’s race when it comes to being good at a sport, in that athletic ability does not always come down to physical ability. There is no clear explanation of why and if certain races perform better than others. Ultimately, Gladwell believes there is more than one factor that contributes to

There are a lot of aspects that should be taken into account when determining what makes an athlete successful. One could argue that natural ability is one of the determining factors which leads to success. For example, if an athlete has dreams of playing in the NBA then height makes a difference. There aren’t many successful players in the league under six feet tall. One could argue that level of competition plays a role in the development of an athlete. This could include the skill level of the opponent or outside factors such as playing conditions or game circumstances. These types of arguments play a role in athlete success, but will not be used in this paper because they are factors that are out of the athlete’s control. This paper

Many people might say that we are all conditioned a certain way by our environment and that as much as we hope to, we can’t choose our own destiny. As well, many others might think quite the opposite; they may think that people’s own free will and determination will decide people’s destiny. The choices we make and the relationships we build are the driving force behind how we develop as people, but how much of an impact does our environment have on us while we move ahead in life.

On the other hand, the set of talent and role that is refined through time, concern that a person live out while completely doing away with the unpredictable of hereditary characteristics. Therefore, a person invests their time and effort into something that they are good at even if it is not in their lineage. For this reason, when a person is born with certain distinctiveness and even though their nurture may have influences on their personalities to change or be improved, their genes encompass a large influence on how they will live their life. Children may see their friend cheat on a test at school but will not do the same, because they now it wrong because of punishment indirect or direct learning from their parents (Benokraitis, 2010). For this, “one strategy is longitudinal research in which children's initial characteristics can be observed to change over time in relation to specific parenting experiences” (Collins, Maccoby, Steinberg, Hetherington & Bornstein, 2000, p. 223).

No matter what is your social class, everyone can participate in sports. Social class can determine which sports you play. For example, according to sociologist Thomas Wilson, the people who make up the lower class are most likely to play football and boxing, and the upper classes are most likely to play golf and tennis. The upper class are most likely to attend sporting events, and when the lower class attend sporting events, it is usually a boxing or wrestling match. Additionally, better-educated people are more likely to attend sports events, which relates to the higher educated you are, the more money you will make, and it will be able to spend on leisure. Furthermore, speaking from experience no matter what is your social class we all cheer for the same team whether it is in the nosebleed seats or courtside or even at home.

What makes a good athlete? What separates a person on the 1st line up from a bench warmer? Where does athleticism come from? Is it from our genes, or is it a product of the environment we live in? These are the types of questions that arise in the nature vs. nurture debate pertaining about athletic ability. In 1582, British educator, Richard Mulcaster wrote that
''Nature makes the boy toward, nurture sees him forward,'' he gave the world
a euphonious name for an opposition that has been debated ever since; Nature and Nurture. People's
beliefs about the roles of heredity and environment affect their opinions on an
astonishing range of topics including sports. The nature versus nurture debate not only exists in the sporting community but also in many others. It is a very controversial topic that has puzzled researchers for centuries. There are two sides to the debate; Nature and Nurture. To be on the side on nature one believes that DNA and heredity make us who we are. In the case of sports, an athlete is born with genes that give them the ability to excel in a certain sport. On the other hand, many people believe that we become who we are because of the environment and people around us; Nurture. A nurtured athlete is an individual that has developed elite skills over time caused by rigorous training and their surroundings. Nature or nurture, which contributes more to the creation of professional athletes?

It has been identified that through sports psychology one can improve their physical ability and performance. Sports psychology is the study of how the mind, mental states and behaviour effect sporting performance. There are several sport psychology techniques, which have helped me become a better volleyball player. These techniques include planning for performance, controlling arousal levels, mental rehearsal and concentration.

It has been argued that if genes influence behaviour and character, and we cannot choose our genes, then our behaviour is outside our control and we are not responsible. However, we take the view that genes are not deterministic, and that there is scope for an

When it comes to wanting a career in sports, there are multiple professions and paths that lead to your destination. However, of all the options, you better expect to work hard while keeping an open mind if you want to succeed in reaching your goal.