Cognitive Dissonance in Societal Hot-Button Discourses

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In the many overpoliticized discussions that rage across our media, it seems that an awful lot of cognitive dissonance must be processed, as all sides are forced to ignore the multifaceted complexities of a controversial societal/cultural issue to stay affixed to a set of selected supporting considerations (confirmation bias). Take, for instance, the discourse over trans athletes in women’s sports. Let’s dissect one of the key points made in the related discourse—that is, that trans athletes enjoy an unfair advantage if they are allowed to compete in women’s sports.

Athletics Select for Top Performers

The crux of athletics is a competition to see who is best at some specified physical task(s)—be it on the individual or team level. It is argued that the physical build of a biological male athlete—no matter downstream hormonal or surgical interventions—may push the athlete past the top-performing biological women, thus giving the biological male an “unfair” advantage.

But isn’t some form of advantage precisely what athletic competition selects for and rewards? What therefore denotes "fair" versus "unfair"? Sure, hard work, positive attitude, and effort can take an athlete a certain distance, but the more “competitive” the contests, the more various forms of innate (unfair?) advantages come to light.

Genetic Advantage

It was said that Michael Phelps had the perfect body for competitive swimming. This advantage was bestowed upon him by his genes, as would greater percentages of fast-twitch muscle fiber in a sprinter, or better VO2 Max in an endurance athlete. Reaction time, kinesthetics, hormonal levels, strength, height, mass, eye-hand coordination, balance, flexibility, vision, foot speed, and other principally genetically determined factors will confer upon an athlete advantages that in a given sport may elevate them well above their competitors. Is this “fair”? Could we ever establish a biological “level playing field”?

Neuro-connectivity

Adaptive intelligence, emotional intelligence, processing speed, competitive drive, resilience, grit, willingness to embarrass/shame/hurt opponents, immunity to personal embarrassment, tolerance of failure, narcissism, need for adulation, pain tolerance, and so many other factors from the neurodevelopmental and neuro-connectivity universe—most beyond the athlete’s control—play major roles in peak athletic performance.

Practice Makes Perfect

We tend to revere our great athletes for all the work they put into their trade. David Beckham was said to practice the same kicks, thousands of times over, from sun up to sun down, day after day. What was it about his neurocognitive makeup that allowed him to do so in the face of certain tedium? Some have argued that such repetitive tasks favor those “a little on the spectrum.” Could this be an unrecognized unfair advantage?

We know that Beckham’s father incessantly pushed him to practice. Is it fair that other parents drive their kids to succeed academically rather than athletically, or channel their charges into the wrong sports, or drive the love of a sport out of their kids, or aren’t present for their children at all?

Poverty

Some, counterintuitively, cite poverty as a great driver of athleticism—less distractions, more downtime, more grit, limited routes out of poverty, etc. Certainly many of the historic greats came from the ghettos, barrios, and rural backwaters of the world. Will we cry foul when the next superstar athlete appears out of remote shantytown?

Timing

The great culling of the athletic herd seems to keep being pushed back further and further. Elite soccer teams now scout the playing fields of grade schools for their academies. And don’t get me started on gymnastics and skating. But children develop at different rates in physical prowess, coordination, emotional maturity, situational processing, etc. How fair is it to the late-bloomers who never get the chance to excel?

Sport and Competition Essential Reads

When Being the Best Is Still Not Enough

Will Sports Prepare Me for Life?

Age

Speaking of age, how "fair" is it to a 30-year-old professional athlete that 19-, 20-, and 21-year-olds keep coming up through the ranks to challenge their position on a squad?

Luck

What about blind luck? The athlete doesn’t select their parents, their neural wiring, their perinatal history, their developmental nutrition, their onset of puberty, their environment, their accessibility to certain sports, their coaching, and the split-second mishaps that can result in career-ending injury. So much of an athlete’s success seems to rest on the cosmic roulette wheel of life.

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To What End a Competitive Advantage?

We are seeing more and more attempts to artificially influence the cosmic roulette wheel through exogenous interventions (supplements, hormones, pharmaceuticals, physiological/kinesthetic analysis, hired-gun coaches and trainers, etc). How does this fit into our fairness matrix?

The Complex Psychology of Appreciating Athletic Competition

I would argue that athletics are inherently “unfair.” We as a species seem to enjoy engaging in and/or watching competitions precisely to see who amongst us won the cosmic lottery and holds the greatest advantage at specific athletic endeavors.

We seem most engaged when the outcomes are not assumed from the outset, and we are oft drawn to the “underdogs,” those assumed to be at a competitive disadvantage. Yet, paradoxically, we bestow our highest honors upon those who possess otherworldly competitive advantages—think Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and Lionel Messi.

What About Our Children?

What is the impact of the inherent unfairness of athletics on our children? Given that only a select few kids will enjoy the competitive advantages that we have outlined, why do we get so worked up over a child’s or their team’s athletic accomplishments, or lack thereof? Surely such an exclusionary system does harm to many developing psyches—particularly the great majority who are unceremoniously cast aside.

If we grant that there is an inherent cosmic unfairness to the outcomes of scholastic-level competitions, shouldn’t we seek to celebrate the many other benefits of athletics besides trophies and championships?

The Corrosive Nature of Politically Driven Confirmation Bias

I have only scratched the surface of this complex debate. But wouldn’t ignoring the full scope of such an issue and holding fast only to discussion points and data that support one’s beliefs create an unhealthy internal dissonance? In an emotionally healthy society, wouldn’t contentious issues be examined, discussed, and addressed in an open, all-aspects-considered manner?