I was writing an email making similar points when yours arrived in the
inbox.

I think there is a tendency to idealize the achievement of other people and
assign the difference between them and ourselves to something that we can't
control, eg luck, genetics, etc.  The greater you idealize and overlook the
method of accomplishment, the more likely you are to think it is luck or
genetics.

In regards to D. Tweed's post, if you look carefully at Art's previous
posts on his athleticism, he's mentioned only once how well he finished in
a competition:

"I take up a new sport now and then or go back to an old one.  I =
just did my first Grand Prix motorcycle race in years this =
weekend; it's a combination of motocross, desert, and pavement =
racing.  I'm still stiff today, but I had a great time.  Didn't =
win, even though I bet I was the most fit in the over 60 class.  =
Adaptation is highly specific and the few guys who finished ahead =
of me do it every weekend.  It is a skill and fitness sport and my =
skills are rusty and my fitness too general."

In fact, it's the only time he's mentioned competition.  I don't get the
impression that Art can compete well against any one in any sport of any
age.  He does say that he can participate (paraphrased) comfortably in
whatever he chooses to take up.

So if I were to ask you (D. Tweed) to be more specific about what makes Art
an outlier, what would you say?

To bring in Keith's email, I would say that following a rigorous physical
regime for 50 years, whatever the program, is a hallmark of an outlier.

And perhaps the genetics is in having the drive and disclipine to keep up
the program and the mental makeup that allows him to devise one that is
unique, substantive, and perhaps the ability to resist the cravings of
unhealthy foods.

I have friends who are addicted to alcohol, cigarettes, or sweets, and I
count my ability to resist them as a blessing.  I am sure that neurological
differences at some level that account for this.  I don't know how I earned
mental gifts, or faults for that matter.

This kind of reminds me of those esoteric debates about free will or the
inevitability of Microsoft's dominance in the view of Brian Arthur's path
dependence theory.

I doubt Art found Evolutionary Fitness as we know it overnight.  It seems
to be a body of thinking that he has evolved over time given his personal
interests, values, experience and feedback. The returns from following the
program, and the costs of deviating from it, is a calculus unique to him.
How many hours has Art spent studying disease and longevity?  How long
would it take for us to accumulate the same knowledge or the same
background to interpret it?

I am sympathetic to D. Tweed, who follows "75%" of EvFit and wonders about
the cost of deviating because following it completely is a hassle.  Right
now, I'm 32, 147 lbs, 12% fat.  I'm relatively healthy by appearance.  For
the first six months, I lifted regularly and watched very carefully what I
ate, virtually eliminating modern high glycemic carbs from the diet.  Now,
I've altered my lifting and have added things like rice and bread back into
the diet because now with the warmer months, I'm dining out with friends
more, which makes it very hard to eat EvFit and be sated at the same time.

That's a trade-off that I knowingly make even though I don't know precisely
the cost.  There's a ton of research out there that I could do without
waiting for Art's book, but I implicitly choose not to by electing to spend
my free time in other ways.  The uncertainy in the cost is intrinsic to my
decision to be ignorant or lazy in this area.

I do wish that we could have better access to our metabolic state, like
blood chemistry.  Perhaps, within a reasonable amount of time, technology
will enable this.

Right now, my immediate goal is to see a significant increase in lean body
mass.  Part of that motivation is sheer impatience, part of it is wanting
feedback to know whether my workout program is indeed efficacious.  What I
am learning from Art, and the other great thinkers like Warren Buffet, is
the importance of being consistent and patient over the long term.
Sometimes we want to achieve something so quickly that we risk harming
ourselves and achieving nothing in the short term--or the long term.

D. Tweed, and anybody else, what are you doing and how does it affect you
or make you feel?

Ming