An Australian researcher says the extreme precision and reaction speed of Olympic divers and gymnasts can be attributed to unique visual training and skills which allow them to see and process information at blinding speeds.
When University of Melbourne senior lecturer Christine Nearchou watches elite athletes perform, much of her attention is focused on their eyes.
"I'm watching just how well they're using their visual system to then drive what they physically can do. In particular with gymnastics, just watching their visual system, how focused they are, you can see it in their face, you can see that their vision is laser sharp and they've already planned out what they're going to do," she said.
Nearchou, who works in optometry and vision sciences, says the visual skills found in Olympic divers and gymnasts are very different from what most of us possess.
"Studies show that they are able to manipulate their visual system and their natural reflexes so that they can bring their eyes and their eye movements to where they need to be. For example, we have a reflex or a primitive reflex that we're born with called the vestibular ocular reflex or gaze stabilization," Nearchou said.
For elite divers and gymnasts, this stabilization can get in the way, and part of their training involves learning how to shut it off. Another critical skill athletes rely on is visualization -- seeing exactly what they are about to do in incredible detail.
"So, they're gaining more information, they're analyzing, interpreting, learning from what they've seen and being able to compartmentalize that and then instruct the motor skills what to do. And they're doing that with not only perfect accuracy, but with perfect timing. And that's where mortals like us are in awe – when I say that they can seamlessly integrate those two systems," Nearchou said.
Nearchou said possessing highly tuned visual processing skills is critical to avoiding mistakes and serious injuries. She said these athletes are relying on those skills as they fly and twist through the air.
"So, that makes it even more unbelievable and incredible and puts us in awe. Even as a vision scientist, I'm still in awe of what they can achieve, having superiorly developed that visual cognition side of their brain," she said.
Australian researcher attributes elite athletes' high reaction speed to visual training
The U.S. decision to impose "reciprocal tariffs" on imports from all trading partners was widely criticized on Friday by experts who called the move "unfounded" and stressed that other countries will take the opportunity to strengthen trade among themselves.
Amid widespread opposition, U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order on the so-called "reciprocal tariffs", imposing a 10-percent "minimum baseline tariff" on all countries and higher rates on certain trading partners.
Speaking in a panel discussion on China Global Television (CGTN), experts rejected the administration's claims that other countries have taken unfair advantage of the U.S. trade deficit.
"It's an extremely strange situation that we're in right now. The U.S. has actually benefited hugely from a global open trading market despite having a trade deficit. So that concept of it being equal or zero just doesn't make sense," said Adam Dunnett, secretary general of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China.
Madhav Nalapat, vice-chair of the Manipal Advanced Research Group, highlighted that Trump's desire for the U.S. to punish its trade partners dates back to the 1980s, when he lamented the decline of the country's manufacturing industry.
"Trump is sticking to his textbook. He has been having the same textbook 40 years. And yes, I agree the world has changed in 40 years. But the textbook that Trump has been using is the same which he began using, from what I'm talking about, 40 years ago. I'm surprised that anyone is surprised by what he has done. And the reality of situation is that he has been talking about an absence of a trade deficit with any country. Now yes, frankly, I also don't think it's a good solution in every circumstance," said Nalapat.
In all, the economists believe that this approach will ultimately isolate the United States, leaving other major economies to strengthen cooperation through multilateral trade frameworks.
"I think while the U.S. want to isolate it's, well, let them do it. But then somebody needs to carry on this global regime of free trade. And that's where the EU, China, Japan, South Korea, the rest of the world except the U.S. comes in. So, like you mentioned, there are many multilateral trade regimes we have created in the past -- RCEP is one, TPPCP is one, and obviously the WTO is one," said Takuji Okubo, managing director and chief economist for Japan Macro Advisors Inc.
"We have to work together if we can't work with the U.S. right now. We should try and solve the issues that we have together at a bilateral or regional level as well. The EU in its response to these and other issues in the past has been if we can't work together, then we'll find other people to work with. And I think the EU has actually demonstrated that quite strongly by having a number of free trade agreements that have been signed in the region with South Korea, with New Zealand, with Vietnam. And again, EU and China have also been talking about a potential agreement as well," said Dunnett.
Experts slam US tariffs, see opportunities for global cooperation without US
Experts slam US tariffs, see opportunities for global cooperation without US
