Latest news with #Endure
Winnipeg Free Press
05-07-2025
- Science
- Winnipeg Free Press
Navigating the unknown
Among the many technical terms from fields such as neuroscience, artificial intelligence, applied mathematics and genetics found in this fascinating new book by bestselling Canadian science writer/distance runner/physicist Alex Hutchinson, the reader discovers 'prediction error.' It's a term that comes from studies of how the brain makes sense of the impressions presented to it by the senses. The brain doesn't simply receive sensory data; rather, it continually makes predictions based on partial sense data and feeds these back to the senses. When we get lost, the predictions we make tend to be errors. We also carry a variant of the gene DRD4 that gives us a happy endorphin boost when our rate of prediction error declines. That genetic variant, Hutchinson writes, emerged 40-50,000 years ago, 'right around the time when our ancestors began their long, multi-pronged march to the farthest corners of the globe. It was a march, the findings hinted, spurred in part by dopamine.' Associated Press files Despite the book's title, Alex Hutchinson's latest is about much more than investigating far-flung and remote corners of our planet. Appropriately enough, The Explorer's Gene will be picked up by many readers as a result of a prediction error. Judging by the title and the historic mountaineering photo on the cover, readers may assume the book is a story of outdoor adventure. So it may come as a surprise that it's packed with discussions of experiments involving social-science questionnaires, rats in cages or brain imaging. Exploration, in Hutchinson's context, can mean striding off into the unknown, conducting scientific research or even varying your restaurant selections. Should you always order from the pizza parlour you like, knowing from experience that you'll enjoy it? Or should you 'explore' the restaurant scene in case a new, better place has opened up? According to Hutchinson, the science says 'try that new joint now and then.' Hutchinson, who has a master's degree in journalism from Cornell University and a PhD in physics from the University of Cambridge, drew on his experience with Canada's national distance running team to write the bestseller Endure, on the science of endurance. Hutchinson cites Swedish speedskater Nils van der Poel as an example of the benefits of experimentation. The skater had done reasonably well with the standard approach to training, but after the 2018 Olympics tried an unheard-of training regimen that led to Olympic gold in Beijing in 2022 and world records. Supplied photo Hutchinson is a science writer, long-distance runner and physicist. Weekly A weekly look at what's happening in Winnipeg's arts and entertainment scene. Each chapter begins with a capsule illustration of an aspect of exploration, exemplified in incidents such as Alexander Mackenzie's journey to the Arctic Ocean in the 18th century or the Polynesian voyages that settled the Pacific Ocean. One story, about a six-year-old boy who got lost in the mountains of Oregon and found his way home on his own, introduces a discussion of free childhood play as a form of exploration and the worrisome consequences of a decline in such exploration in a wired, media-fed culture. Another topic may be of special interest to readers with a lot of mileage on their traveling shoes. It's called the 'explore-exploit' dilemma. Generally speaking, we explore when we're young and have time to make mistakes and try again. When we're older we 'exploit' our existing knowledge, living off skills acquired earlier. But that doesn't mean we should give up exploring altogether. In fact, Hutchinson argues that continuing to explore helps keep people physically and mentally healthy as they age. So even if you feel too old to learn about algorithms and game theory, and even if your explorations are mostly carried out through a screen, adding The Explorer's Gene to your bookcase may help you navigate the seas of advancing age as you sail toward the final discovery. Bob Armstrong is a Winnipeg novelist who writes about his explorations on Substack @wanderingwriterbobarmstrong. The Explorer's Gene
USA Today
20-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Still sidelined from surgery, Scott Stallings has a starting time in the Boston Marathon
Still sidelined from surgery, Scott Stallings has a starting time in the Boston Marathon Scott Stallings has a starting time again. Not for a PGA Tour event but rather for the 129th Boston Marathon on Monday, which begins at 9 a.m ET. 'A marathon! You have to be kidding me!!!' Stallings began in his online post explaining the reason he opted to run the race. 'Seems like the perfect way to celebrate my 40th birthday (in March) and raise some money for a great cause in the process.' Stallings, a 14-year Tour member with three victories to his credit, hasn't teed it up in an event in over a year due to a torn labrum and multiple surgeries to his shoulder and elbow. He just began hitting balls again off a mat and hopes to return to the Tour (via a medical extension) for the FedEx Cup Fall. 'I don't know another time in my career where I'd have this chance to train properly and do this,' Stallings said. He's never run a marathon before, mind you, but is beginning with one of the majors in marathons along with 30,000 other participants. It's the equivalent of a marathoner making his tournament debut at the Masters. Stallings didn't qualify for the race, which requires the stiffest time standard — proof of completing a marathon in no more than 2 hours 55 minutes for males ages 18-34 — but rather received a spot on the marathon team of Golf Fights Cancer, a non-profit that taps into the passion and generosity of golfers to raise much needed funds for cancer related organizations and families living with the disease. Founded by Boston natives Brian Oates and Jay Monahan, commissioner of the PGA Tour, Golf Fights Cancer first launched at the Boston Marathon in 2004, with Oates and Monahan representing the organization. Travelers Championship tournament director Nathan Grube and Brian Oliver, the Tour's executive vice president of corporate partnerships, have previously had Tour ties and run Boston with the Golf Fights Cancer team but this is a first for a player. 'The idea of running in Boston is something I've always thought about,' said Stallings, a native of Worcester, 'but never actually made a pass at trying. Excuses wrapped up in anyway I could to justify not trying to make it happen.' While rehabbing from surgeries, Stallings read the books "Do Hard Things" and 'Endure' last fall, which inspired his decision to run his first marathon. 'Both discuss aspects of training and embracing new challenges and breaking barriers,' Stallings wrote. 'Throughout the books I was constantly putting myself in the place of the person in the story and immediately came to Boston.' After he finished 'Endure,' during an October family vacation to Kiawah Island, Sout Carolina, Stallings decided to challenge himself by doing an early morning half marathon the next day. When he got back his wife, Jennifer, asked him how the run turned out. He told her he was going to sign up for the Boston Marathon. Stallings's wife rolled over; it was too early for a discussion. 'She said, 'I think you've lost your mind,'' Stallings recounted. 'I wanted to do something difficult.' Stallings occasionally 'ran angry' after bad rounds and averaged walking 100-miles a week during Tour events, but he was a novice runner, having never participated in a race and deemed himself the equivalent of a 30 handicap before he joined a running club. When Monahan caught wind of Stallings's personal goal, he reached out to help. 'Jay said, 'Since I became commissioner, my dream always has been to have a Tour player run,' ' Stallings recalled. Monahan and Korn Ferry Tour president Alex Baldwin took care of the rest so Stallings could become part of the 17-person Golf Fights Cancer marathon team, which has gone from raising $8,640 in 2009 to $825,000 in 2024. 'If my husband can do this,' Baldwin told him, 'I'm confident you can too.' Added Monahan: 'We're going to love and support you as much as possible and it's a huge opportunity to showcase something we love and believe in.' 'Jay said, 'Just don't be a headline,'' Stallings said with a laugh. As far as his golf recovery, Stallings hopes to graduate to hitting balls off grass sometime soon and get back to work in the fall. 'No crazy setbacks, no soreness in my elbow,' said Stallings. 'So far, everything's on track.' As is his marathon plans for Boston, which he calls 'one of the greatest cities if not the greatest city in the world.' Family and friends will be on hand to cheer him on. His wife has created a bunch of signs to display across the race route, including one that says, "I told you that this was a bad idea!" Asked to name his target time, Stallings says he's trying not to be too competitive with himself and enjoy the moment. 'I'll be happy if I finish somewhere between the ambulance and the street sweeper,' he said. To support Stallings and the Golf Fights Cancer team, donate at or
