On 21 Jun 2003 at 0:11, skimmer_at_mail3.enter.net wrote: > Do you believe that such a difference, if it exists, will be > detectable? What % change in work is anticipated? Do you think this > change will be statistically detectable (significant at the 95% > level)? Tests on humans have shown that they cannot accurately perceive differences of less than, ummm, can't remember exactly, but it's something on the order of 10%. > Would you accept the possibility that there is no difference in the > work required to push the boat as described above, but that under > certain circumstances, sets of muscle better suited for sustained > paddling are brought into play with certain paddles, which causes the > perception that "less work" is being required to drive the boat? John Winters has described a case where differences between two canoes were clearly and unanimously perceived by a number of expert paddlers. The only physical difference between them, in fact, was that one was plain white with aluminum trim and the other was a lovely red colour with gorgeous wood trim. People deluding themselves about paddles is probably just as easy to achieve in tests. > I would appreciate a clearer discussion about the nature of the > questions being proposed for testing. There are (at least) a couple of aspects that need to be covered. 1 - How the paddles actual work (and what their efficiencies really are) from the standpoint of hydrodynamics - this tells us about the underlying behavior of the paddles. 2 - How the paddles work in the hands of a paddler - this includes the biomechanical efficiencies and ergonomic details. However, of particular interest to us would be not how wing paddles work in the hands of the experts, but how the kinds of paddles _we_ use work in the ways the we use them. Some people will only be interested in the former, others only in the latter, others still in both. Mike *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Sun Jun 22 2003 - 17:35:24 PDT
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