This is something I have been thinking about since the Olympics... at what point will it not be possible for human beings to swim or run any faster. There has to be a point where the human body just can't go any faster, no matter how much you train, what kind of things you put into your body (legal or not), etc.
I mean it isn't possible to swim a 400 IM, for example, in 2 seconds (at least I don't think it ever will be) so where does it end? And when will that happen?
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Former Member
Actually it doesn't really have to have any "real" end.....the logic behind 2 seconds as a lower boundary for any single event doesn't really prove there will be an ultimate "end" to setting new world records. To break an existing world record you only have to break it by one hundreth of a second or so (maybe in the future with more sophisticated timing technology (i.e. devices)....this can be even less....like one ten thousandth of a second??).....BUT If every world record had to be beat by a second or more to be legitimate I can almost agree with your assessment......As it stands now though, you can give an ultimate lower boundary for any event (like 2 seconds for example).....then nobody would ever reach that lower boundary...BUT when you look at the gap of possible times that lies between that ultimate lower boundary and the existing world record, there will always be enough room (with sophisticated enough timing technology) for such a large number of "legitimate" possible times that lie within that gap of time that the number of legitimate possibilites might as well be infinite ......It's "similar" to saying something like: What if I can never reach the wall over there but I can always go half way to the wall....then half way again...then half way again....Is there a limit then to how close I can get to the wall?....the only difference is that there really are then an infinite number of possible legitimate "closer" distances I can get to the wall in that hypothetical scenario.
Sorry (I'm a geek please forgive me)
newmastersswimmer
Actually it doesn't really have to have any "real" end.....the logic behind 2 seconds as a lower boundary for any single event doesn't really prove there will be an ultimate "end" to setting new world records. To break an existing world record you only have to break it by one hundreth of a second or so (maybe in the future with more sophisticated timing technology (i.e. devices)....this can be even less....like one ten thousandth of a second??).....BUT If every world record had to be beat by a second or more to be legitimate I can almost agree with your assessment......As it stands now though, you can give an ultimate lower boundary for any event (like 2 seconds for example).....then nobody would ever reach that lower boundary...BUT when you look at the gap of possible times that lies between that ultimate lower boundary and the existing world record, there will always be enough room (with sophisticated enough timing technology) for such a large number of "legitimate" possible times that lie within that gap of time that the number of legitimate possibilites might as well be infinite ......It's "similar" to saying something like: What if I can never reach the wall over there but I can always go half way to the wall....then half way again...then half way again....Is there a limit then to how close I can get to the wall?....the only difference is that there really are then an infinite number of possible legitimate "closer" distances I can get to the wall in that hypothetical scenario.
Sorry (I'm a geek please forgive me)
newmastersswimmer
