Sports and Intelligence Don't Always Go Hand in Hand

 

            Sometimes lacking in intelligence can make you a better athlete. As we have seen in our book, intelligence can play very little role in succeeding at sports. Although Rodney’s brain has been severely damaged by his cocaine addiction, he can still play baseball, arguably the most difficult sport to master, at a very high level. I believe his ability is enhanced by his reduced intelligence. He can step up to the plate and hit without ever over thinking the situation: “He doesn’t feel pressure. He doesn’t even understand that others do. Its what makes him so good” (72). I can relate to this as a baseball player. Often when I set up to the plate to hit, I find myself thinking about all the possible outcomes of my at-bat. Thoughts like, “If I single up the middle I’ll get two more RBIs or if I groundout to the right side I can advance the runners or if I strike out looking Sweeney will be ticked off at me” swirl in my head as I am about to attempt to do the most difficult action in sports. I find that I am most successful when I “dumb it down” a bit and clear my head of all thought. Players like Rodney can hit without even thinking about not thinking. I believe that this is what makes players like Rodney, Manny Ramirez and Josh Hamilton so good. They can go up to the plate without their thoughts distracting them and holding them back from doing the simple task at hand: hitting the ball.            

Ignorance in Libya

            Over the past couple weeks I’ve been glued to the 6:30 news every night hoping to find out more about the conflict in Libya. For everyone that does not know what has been going on, the people of Libya have revolted against their dictator, Muammar Qaddafi, who has ruled the country for forty years. Unlike the recent uprising in neighboring Egypt, the Libyan uprising has been extremely violent, with both sides fighting each other with heavy weapons. Qaddafi even ordered fighter jets to bomb his own people. Now, many army units have deserted and joined with the anti-government forces. The result is that the anti-government forces control nearly half the country. What I have found extremely intriguing about the whole situation is the fact that Qaddafi has seemed about as far as one can get from reality. After killing hundreds of his own people in the capital of Tripoli, Qaddafi denied using any force. He also added that the protestors are high on hallucinogenic drugs provided by al Qaeda. In recent interview with the BBC, when asked about the uprising, he calmly denied its very existence saying that all his people love him and would die for him. All of this while the entire eastern half of his country is armed and ready to topple his regime. I find it very troubling that a world leader (and leader of one the world’s top oil producing nations) could have such a delusional view on the events happening in his own country. It looks as though the situation in Libya will not end any time soon. With the stubborn Qaddafi still in charge of the army the future looks dismal for the Libyan people.