This is a column by Morgan Campbell, who writes opinion for CBC Sports. For more information about CBC's Opinion section, please see the FAQ. What can you do in one one-thousandth of a second?
Voluntarily, I mean. Hang up on a robocall? Block a forex/crypto grifter's follow request on Instagram? Hit "don't recommend channel" when YouTube's algorithm serves up a Joe Rogan/Jordan Peterson collaboration?
Many of us could make many of those decisions in a flash, but not in .001 seconds. In the real world, thousandths of a second barely exist.
Anything we can measure that closely is a matter of reflex or luck. But in the alternate dimension known as the World Athletics Championships, one one-thousandth of a second can determine the difference between a great start and an illegal one; a keen competitor and a cheater. WATCH | Making the case to abolish the false start rule in track and field: Witness Devon Allen, the future Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver and the third-fastest 110-metre hurdler in history, looking to win a medal in Eugene, Ore., where he competed as a collegian at the University of Oregon.