‘Analysis Bias’ in Judging Body Building, Singing, and Dancing

The photo above is of Steve Reeves. Professional bodybuilder, actor, and philanthropist. At the peak of his career, he was the highest-paid actor in Europe.

Contrast his physique with that of Dorian Yates (below) — a retired bodybuilder who won Mr. Olympia six times in row.

Please their faces for a moment, and think for yourself who has a better physique?

I think it is Steve Reeves. He has an awesome physique!

Despite the fact that Dorian Yates has better muscle definition (just compare their thigh muscles), most of us would vote for Steve Reeves!

Why?

Because Dorian’s physique is too much defined.

And for some surprising reason most human minds do not seem like too much definition in this case.

But, then how come this guy was selected as Mr. Olympia 6 times in a row?

My hypothesis: Analysis Bias.

And my suggestion: We need to re-balance our minds more towards Synthesis

Let me explain. (This is an unusual thought, So, please bear with me!)

Human mind is an integrating device. It integrates all our experiences and arrives at assessments — consciously or sub-consciously.

This is why we instinctively like or dis-like some actors, people, paintings, etc.

We may not know the analytical reasons for our preferences, but our ‘gut’ seems to be able to assess and prefer something somehow.

In the above 2 photos, Steve’s physique is aesthetically more pleasing as a whole. One reason is because his body is well-proportioned and balanced

But, Dorian’s physique, while being more muscled and more defined, is not that aesthetically appealing. Because while it is good in pieces, it is not pleasing as a whole. It is out of proportion. For instance, look at the length of his neck. Also, compare his thigh thickness with his waist thickness.

Even Arnold Schwarzenegger criticizes such physiques.

In his public speeches, he often blasts the state of elite competitive bodybuilding, casting blame on judges for “choosing the guy with the biggest neck and the biggest muscles” and other “bottle-shaped” bodies instead of a more aesthetically pleasing physique epitomized by the legendary Steve Reeves.

But, how come Dorian become Mr. Olympiad 6 times then?

This is where I want to give a hypothesis which applies to not just Body building, but also to areas such as Singing and Dancing:

Our experts and judges (in these fields such as Body Building, Singing, Dancing, etc.) have been making a mistake (a honest one though!) of prioritizing Analysis over Synthesis.

Experts and Judges in these fields are prioritizing Analysis (which means ‘breaking down’ something into parts). This leads to an obsession with muscle definition and separation.

But is that the right metric? Should not the right metric be more Synthesis- oriented? Synthesis means combining something back into a whole.

I think experts get into the Analysis trap because while it is easy to to agree of Analysis metrics, it is not so easy to agree on Synthesis metrics. Because synthesis is an integration — which is often in our ‘gut’ and not so much in the domain of conscious reasoning.

I want to now take the case of Singing.

Why are classical singers so respected by the experts but never enjoyed by common people?

Analysis bias again.

Experts seem to be quite mistaken (though honestly mistaken!) that Analysis is good. So, their metric becomes the number of notes you can hit in a limited time. Also, the variation in the frequency of those notes. That is why Indian classical singers try to impress audiences by their ‘aalaaps’.

But, can you ever beat the nice balance that you get in Mohammad Rafi’s voice? The exuberance in Kishore Kumar’s Songs?

I want to now take the case of Dancing.

Ask yourselves: Did you not ever wonder why while you respected Prabhu Deva, but you never got to love him so much? As much as you loved Hrithik Roshan?

If the answer is yes. Then let me tell you why.

Prabhu Deva (sorry his fans!) is an analytical dancer.

He moves are too broken down. This makes him lack grace...

Interested readers can see one of his dance clips here:

Hrithik Roshan, however, focuses on enjoyment.

He has tremendous definition in his moves, but he also sums it all well that he looks effortless and much more graceful.

Interested readers can see one of his dance clips here:

Conclusion

Our mind is an conscious or sub-conscious integrating device.

After seeing all the Analysis (and finesse, and definition), our minds judge something not in its parts, but as a whole.

This observation can be applied to the way we judge performances. In Body building, in Singing, in Dancing, and in fact in many other ‘performing’ fields!