Ranger's training thread

[jliddil]

Of course, it is quite a mistake to suppose that those who show a very intelligent grasp of the theory underlying a movement are for that reason qualified to fill responsible positions on the directorate. The contrary is very frequently the case.

Great masters of theory are only very rarely great organizers also. And this is because the greatness of the theorist and founder of a system consists in being able to discover and lay down those laws that are right in the abstract, whereas the organizer must first of all be a man of psychological insight. He must take men as they are, and for that reason he must know them, not having too high or too low an estimate of human nature. He must take account of their weaknesses, their baseness and all the other various characteristics, so as to form something out of them which will be a living organism, endowed with strong powers of resistance, fitted to be the carrier of an idea and strong enough to ensure the triumph of that idea.

But it is still more rare to find a great theorist who is at the same time a great leader. For the latter must be more of an agitator, a truth that will not be readily accepted by many of those who deal with problems only from the scientific standpoint. And yet what I say is only natural. For an agitator who shows himself capable of expounding ideas to the great masses must always be a psychologist, even though he may be only a demagogue. Therefore he will always be a much more capable leader than the contemplative theorist who meditates on his ideas, far from the human throng and the world. For to be a leader means to be able to move the masses. The gift of formulating ideas has nothing whatsoever to do with the capacity for leadership. It would be entirely futile to discuss the question as to which is the more important: the faculty of conceiving ideals and human aims or that of being able to have them put into practice. Here, as so often happens in life, the one would be entirely meaningless without the other. The noblest conceptions of the human understanding remain without purpose or value if the leader cannot move the masses towards them. And, conversely, what would it avail to have all the genius and elan of a leader if the intellectual theorist does not fix the aims for which mankind must struggle. But when the abilities of theorist and organizer and leader are united in the one person, then we have the rarest phenomenon on this earth. And it is that union which produces the great man.

[Bob S.]

Of course, it is quite a mistake to suppose that those who show a very intelligent grasp of the theory underlying a movement are for that reason qualified to fill responsible positions on the directorate. The contrary is very frequently the case.

Great masters of theory are only very rarely great organizers also. And this is because the greatness of the theorist and founder of a system consists in being able to discover and lay down those laws that are right in the abstract, whereas the organizer must first of all be a man of psychological insight. He must take men as they are, and for that reason he must know them, not having too high or too low an estimate of human nature. He must take account of their weaknesses, their baseness and all the other various characteristics, so as to form something out of them which will be a living organism, endowed with strong powers of resistance, fitted to be the carrier of an idea and strong enough to ensure the triumph of that idea.

But it is still more rare to find a great theorist who is at the same time a great leader. For the latter must be more of an agitator, a truth that will not be readily accepted by many of those who deal with problems only from the scientific standpoint. And yet what I say is only natural. For an agitator who shows himself capable of expounding ideas to the great masses must always be a psychologist, even though he may be only a demagogue. Therefore he will always be a much more capable leader than the contemplative theorist who meditates on his ideas, far from the human throng and the world. For to be a leader means to be able to move the masses. The gift of formulating ideas has nothing whatsoever to do with the capacity for leadership. It would be entirely futile to discuss the question as to which is the more important: the faculty of conceiving ideals and human aims or that of being able to have them put into practice. Here, as so often happens in life, the one would be entirely meaningless without the other. The noblest conceptions of the human understanding remain without purpose or value if the leader cannot move the masses towards them. And, conversely, what would it avail to have all the genius and elan of a leader if the intellectual theorist does not fix the aims for which mankind must struggle. But when the abilities of theorist and organizer and leader are united in the one person, then we have the rarest phenomenon on this earth. And it is that union which produces the great man.

Sieg Heil!

[bellboy]

Hey is there a way to extract all the posts from a thread?

You may be able to do that with GNU WGET.
http://www.gnu.org/doc/doc.html

I've never tried because I'm not THAT bored.

Bored? Nope creating a movie script.

HTTrack

Can i have play myself in your forthcoming opus please? Can you also have Salma Hayek dressed as a nurse ? Picture the scene. I collapse after a sub 7 and am in need of some ahem "attention". Salma wiggles her way over to help.....well you get the rest. As for Von Manbatt? Any over precious theatre type lovie will do. Failing that give Paul Reubens a call. Over to you Mr Scorcese!

[KevJGK]

Sieg Heil!

[BrianStaff]

Will the next posting from the grand master originate in England?

Or will we have to read 8 hours worth of fantasy from WiFi in the sky?

That's all assuming of course, he actually gets on the plane

[KevJGK]

We should start a book on it along the lines of:

DNS odds on
DNF evens
07:xx 5:1
06:5x 4:1
06:4x 3:1
06:3x 100:1
06:2x

[jliddil]

We should start a book on it along the lines of:

DNS odds on
DNF evens
07:xx 5:1
06:5x 4:1
06:4x 3:1
06:3x 100:1
06:2x

What is the over-under?

[ranger]

given that you appear to believe that you are better than everyone, at everything - why did you bother going to see a financial advisor?

You won't take advice from anyone - so why ask for it?

I needed some specific information about the rules and regulations imposed by the University of Michigan on the disbursement of my funds.

I was then asked about other things and, in the process, given bad advice, which didn't surprise me, or influence me.

It is just to be expected.

ranger

[ranger]

You're such a coward you're even afraid of performing at your best possible level! You'd rather sabotage your training and make up excuses, lest your best possible level end up falling, say, 20-30 seconds short of your stated goal.

Hardly.

Been there, done that.

I have three WR rows, remember?

In all, six sub-6:30 rows as a 50s veteran.

Given my skills and experience at the time, these rows were certainly my "best possible level."

The question is, though, what then?

How do you enhance your possibilities, given some high level of achievement?

In recent times, no male WR-holder, 40-70, has ever gotten any better.

My goal has been to get a dozen seconds better by improving my technique.

Why do you think that's unreasonable?

ranger

[KevJGK]

What is the over-under?

Let's say 06:45

Max £10

Want some?

[KevJGK]

I was then asked about other things and, in the process, given bad advice...

What was the bad advice?

[Citroen]

Sieg Heil!

Probably a natural reaction when someone posts verbatim from the English translation of Mein Kampf by A. Hitler.

[Citroen]

We should start a book on it along the lines of:

DNS odds on
DNF evens
07:xx 5:1
06:5x 4:1
06:4x 3:1
06:3x 100:1
06:2x

You've missed one option: DNFly. Which is my odds on certainty at the moment.

[bellboy]

i do believe that an at home 2k trial was going to be reported this very day. Seeing as he has at least 8 hours left to do so am i churlish in thinking he may not do what he said he will?

[macroth]

You're such a coward you're even afraid of performing at your best possible level! You'd rather sabotage your training and make up excuses, lest your best possible level end up falling, say, 20-30 seconds short of your stated goal.

Hardly.

Been there, done that.

I have three WR rows, remember?

In all, six sub-6:30 rows as a 50s veteran.

Given my skills and experience at the time, these rows were certainly my "best possible level."

The question is, though, what then?

How do you enhance your possibilities, given some high level of achievement?

In recent times, no male WR-holder, 40-70, has ever gotten any better.

My goal has been to get a dozen seconds better by improving my technique.

Why do you think that's unreasonable?

ranger

Let me count the ways...

You're an aging athlete, with declining or at best stagnating physical capabilities since they were maximal in 2003.
You have no idea if technical improvements could actually yield 12 seconds over 2k.
You haven't been working on technique, and haven't heeded anybody's technical advice. Instead, you've been trying to pull harder, and deluding yourself into thinking you've improved in that respect, when in fact you have only been able to pull harder for fewer and fewer continuous meters.
Your times (call them unsharpened all you want) have increased over the years, yet you keep saying you're improving.

A reasonable goal would have been to set the 50's WR even lower while you (maybe) still could. Another reasonable goal would have been to set the 55's WR. Over the next few years, a reasonable goal would be to set a new 60's WR. You could also try your hand at records in distances other than 2K. Plenty of achievements were and are still there for the taking.

But thinking that rowing with breaks for 7 years will give you 12 second over 2K through so-called technical improvement, allowing you to row at 59 like a 30-some year old former Olympian, is a pipe dream. You will confirm this in just a couple days now.