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Sports and games

Athlete in black and white kit finishes track race, smiling and pointing. Crowd applauding in the background.

Sports and games

idea

Sport shows how to use performance benchmarks in a positive way

IQ scores and other contextless benchmarks are suffocating and misleading. We should look to sport for a healthier approach

by Leif Weatherby

A swimmer wearing a black swim cap with an American flag and “Phelps” written on it, and goggles, with a red cupping mark on his shoulder.

Sports and games

idea

Why do so many athletes turn to extreme and unproven remedies?

The widespread use of unproven remedies and products in sport is not only harmful to athletes but also to wider society

by Nick Tiller

A close-up of hands holding papers with handwritten notes, coin purses, and a pen, set on a wooden surface with grass in the background.

Sports and games

idea

For players of fafi, dream interpretation is a vital skill

The fafi lottery game in South Africa requires the careful interpretation of dreams and the waking world around you

by Brittany Birberick

Cyclist in a white polka dot jersey racing during a cycling event, with a crowd of spectators cheering in the background.

Sports and games

idea

Physical fatigue is in the brain as much as in the body

The idea of ‘mind over muscle’ is more than motivational rhetoric – exercise science shows how the brain manages fatigue

by David Robson

A group of children sitting on a gymnasium floor, holding basketballs, wearing various athletic clothing, and appearing to be in a sports class.

Goals and motivation

idea

Why some teams boost motivation while others totally sap it

Working in a team can inspire striving – or encourage free-riding. What makes a difference is how the teamwork is designed

by Ann-Kathrin Torka, Jens Mazei & Joachim Hüffmeier

Young man does a skateboard trick in a street with graffiti, with protestors and signs in the background, set against a city skyline.

Sports and games

idea

Sisyphus, skateboarders, and the value in endless failure

Skateboarders regularly fail at their chosen activity. But that doesn’t make it a meaningless task of Sisyphean proportions

by Andrei A Buckareff

Close-up of an ancient Greek vase depicting two male figures wrestling, painted in black against a terracotta background.

Change and self-development

idea

Philosophy is like athletics – theory must be put into practice

The Stoics approached self-improvement as an athlete approaches sport: the key is to keep practising in the face of failure

by Michael Tremblay

Football match with players in blue and red kits in front of the goal, a player appears to handle the ball to prevent a goal.

Sports and games

idea

In sport, as in life, tactical fouling is fundamentally wrong

Tactical or professional fouling is a familiar, accepted practice in team sports. But is it ever the right thing to do?

by George Letsas & Saladin Meckled-Garcia

Masked figures holding burning flares create a thick smoke cloud in an intense red-lit scene.

Sports and games

idea

Why do hardcore football fans behave like rutting stags?

Sport spectators can let off steam by chanting and group bonding, but why do hardcore football fans turn to real violence?

by Martha Newson

A serene woman lying in bed with her newborn baby who is resting on her chest.

Parenting and families

idea

Philosophy can explain what kind of achievement it is to give birth

Pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding are physical achievements, like marathon running: give them the same respect, and no more

by Fiona Woollard

Three wrestlers in a ring. Two face each other, as one in a full mask spits in the face of the other. A further masked figure in red and white looks on.

Sports and games

idea

What pro wrestling can teach us about the quest for truth

Pro wrestling, like philosophy, raises questions about appearance and reality: how can we ever know what’s really happening?

by Douglas Edwards