The Rest Is Science Can We 'Solve' Sports?
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Feb 3, 2026 They explore how data, prediction, and optimisation are reshaping sports from baseball shifts and launch-angle revolutions to the Tush Push in American football. They talk aerodynamics and dirty air in Formula 1, expected goals and analytics in football, and how body types and physiology push performance limits. They question whether removing obstacles and perfect prediction could make games less entertaining.
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Olympic Records Near Human Limits
- Many Olympic records are approaching human physiological limits, leaving only tiny marginal gains.
- Future improvements hinge on rules, technology and tiny environmental differences.
Dirty Air In Formula One
- Hannah worked as a Formula One aerodynamicist and described 'dirty air' from optimized cars reducing following-car downforce.
- Following cars can lose 20–60% downforce, making overtakes much harder.
Rules Versus Team Optimization
- Regulators and teams face opposing incentives: fans want overtakes, teams want to protect advantages.
- Rule redesigns repeatedly try to rebalance spectacle versus technical optimization.
