By the way, I remembered something relevant to LessWrong, I’ll put it here even though not precisely on topic:
There is a very widespread bias in the skying world for long skis: evidence is overwhelming that for recreational skiing shorter skis are much better, but it seems almost everyone ignores it for what appear to be status reasons.
Anecdote: Having seen short skis on slopes, I once asked the guy at the rental shop about them. He dismissed them with “Oh, those are just for fun”—although it was quite obvious that I wasn’t there training for the Winter Olympics.
It so happens that short skis are much more fun than “normal” ones for normal people, but for some reason almost all the advice given is only appropriate for expert use—even when you explicitly say you never skied before and you’re in it just for fun. And I really mean the “much” in that first sentence: it’s the difference between falling constantly for a week and starting to ski from the first minute.
(Larger skis are better for going faster or skiing outside slopes, but that just doesn’t apply to most people.)
Yeah, scary. And scariest is that he said it with a dismissive tone of authority and my brain just accepted it. It took me a couple minutes to notice it and convince myself the “expert” was completely ridiculous (I was almost a complete beginner skier at the time).
By the way, it’s not like short skis are new: I checked afterwards and found that their ease of use has been known for decades. It seems trainers insist on long skis just because they can give more lessons, rental shop guys can charge more for the bigger “better” skis, and I suspect most everyone else doesn’t even try them because they’re think they look like child skis or something.
Yeah, scary. And scariest is that he said it with a dismissive tone of authority and my brain just accepted it. It took me a couple minutes to notice it and convince myself the “expert” was completely ridiculous
Up until this part I thought you were replying to an entirely different comment. Since I was just browsing my inbox I resolved ‘scary’ to the most recent thing I have declared scary here. :P
and I suspect most everyone else doesn’t even try them because they’re think they look like child skis or something.
And they are, well, smaller. Who doesn’t want the biggest tool you can get?
I’m not sure if it’s just me, but while I love skiing ever since I was a kid my instincts have screamed at me: “No! Don’t attach great big levers to each of your feet then convert your gravitational potential energy into kinetic energy. Physics doesn’t approve and your knees aren’t designed for torsion!” Shorts skiis seem like they should be slightly less dangerous.
They seem much less dangerous (besides easier to use), but then again I became a better skier in the mean-time so it’s hard to judge.
It’s not just that shorter lever means lower force on the knees. Being shorter (and lighter) they’re also much easier to maneuver around terrain irregularities, and they don’t pick up speed that fast (I think their lower surface area makes you sink a bit more in the snow).
Off-topic: I’m not sure from your wording: do you have something that notifies you of replies to your comments?
By the way, I remembered something relevant to LessWrong, I’ll put it here even though not precisely on topic:
There is a very widespread bias in the skying world for long skis: evidence is overwhelming that for recreational skiing shorter skis are much better, but it seems almost everyone ignores it for what appear to be status reasons.
Anecdote: Having seen short skis on slopes, I once asked the guy at the rental shop about them. He dismissed them with “Oh, those are just for fun”—although it was quite obvious that I wasn’t there training for the Winter Olympics.
It so happens that short skis are much more fun than “normal” ones for normal people, but for some reason almost all the advice given is only appropriate for expert use—even when you explicitly say you never skied before and you’re in it just for fun. And I really mean the “much” in that first sentence: it’s the difference between falling constantly for a week and starting to ski from the first minute.
(Larger skis are better for going faster or skiing outside slopes, but that just doesn’t apply to most people.)
Wow. I didn’t know that one. Thanks.
That is scary. Just for fun? At a rental shop? Because professionals don’t own their own skis...
Yeah, scary. And scariest is that he said it with a dismissive tone of authority and my brain just accepted it. It took me a couple minutes to notice it and convince myself the “expert” was completely ridiculous (I was almost a complete beginner skier at the time).
By the way, it’s not like short skis are new: I checked afterwards and found that their ease of use has been known for decades. It seems trainers insist on long skis just because they can give more lessons, rental shop guys can charge more for the bigger “better” skis, and I suspect most everyone else doesn’t even try them because they’re think they look like child skis or something.
Up until this part I thought you were replying to an entirely different comment. Since I was just browsing my inbox I resolved ‘scary’ to the most recent thing I have declared scary here. :P
And they are, well, smaller. Who doesn’t want the biggest tool you can get?
I’m not sure if it’s just me, but while I love skiing ever since I was a kid my instincts have screamed at me: “No! Don’t attach great big levers to each of your feet then convert your gravitational potential energy into kinetic energy. Physics doesn’t approve and your knees aren’t designed for torsion!” Shorts skiis seem like they should be slightly less dangerous.
They seem much less dangerous (besides easier to use), but then again I became a better skier in the mean-time so it’s hard to judge.
It’s not just that shorter lever means lower force on the knees. Being shorter (and lighter) they’re also much easier to maneuver around terrain irregularities, and they don’t pick up speed that fast (I think their lower surface area makes you sink a bit more in the snow).
Off-topic: I’m not sure from your wording: do you have something that notifies you of replies to your comments?
The envelope under your username turns red if you have a reply or pm
Thanks Barry, I never noticed that!