Zach Schonbrun

Writer and Senior Editor at The Week Magazine (US)

Senior editor, business & tech @TheWeek. Author of The Performance Cortex. Science: https://t.co/yd5DXsojL7

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Articles

How To Run a 100-mile Race

2 weeks ago | zachschonbrun.substack.com | Zach Schonbrun

A few weeks ago, John Clayton, having finally emerged out of the woods and mountains of the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia, jogged toward a banner strung between two poles in a clearing and stopped, approximately 28 hours and 41 minutes after he’d started. His wife, Jaimie, and two kids were there; his hand was bleeding; his feet were blistered.
The Power of Talking to Yourself

1 month ago | zachschonbrun.substack.com | Zach Schonbrun

I talk to myself all the time. Usually I’m rehearsing things I want to say during a meeting or I’m reminding myself about the million things going on in the waning days of my kid’s school year. But sometimes I’ll adopt a strategy increasingly used by elite performers: I’ll tell myself how great I am. This isn’t meant to be hubristic. Self-talk is a motivational tactic. It’s like turning up the volume of the pump-up anthem in your brain.
Science of Skill

2 months ago | zachschonbrun.substack.com | Zach Schonbrun

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Science of Skill

Mar 27, 2025 | zachschonbrun.substack.com | Zach Schonbrun

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Stress Can Be a Good Thing

Jan 23, 2025 | zachschonbrun.substack.com | Zach Schonbrun

Warm regards from frozen New Jersey. Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston have landed on something interesting in a recent study on surgeons: When the surgeons’ stress levels went up in the initial minutes of an operation, the end result had fewer complications. Usually, we associate stress with a lot of negative things. This goes for health, workplace performance, and elite athletics.
AI is Coming for Coaching

Jan 16, 2025 | zachschonbrun.substack.com | Zach Schonbrun

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The science of cutaneous perception

Oct 31, 2024 | zachschonbrun.substack.com | Zach Schonbrun

A few years ago, five researchers in the Netherlands wanted to better understand what characteristics might distinguish an expert in sailing. They recruited six professional sailers and a collection of intermediate and non-sailers. A real dinghy was brought into the lab and placed in the center of an octagonal room with fans positioned at each of the eight corners.
Baseball’s Next Great Analytical Frontier

Oct 28, 2024 | theatlantic.com | Zach Schonbrun

Mariano Rivera was never secretive about the grip on his signature pitch. He’d show it to teammates, coaches, even reporters. He placed his index and middle fingers together along the seams. He pulled down with his middle finger upon release. The ball would whiz arrow-straight before veering sharply a few inches from where the hitter expected it. When teaching pitchers how it should feel coming out of their hand, however, Rivera could be frustratingly vague.
20 Million Cards: A Sports Memorabilia Gold Mine Uncovered in Virginia

Sep 14, 2024 | ourcommunitynow.com | Zach Schonbrun

ShareIn a former antique shop off a four-lane highway in rural Virginia, Tim Banazek knelt before a white banker’s box labeled “Autographed Baseballs” that was stashed at the bottom of a steel bookcase. He pulled the first ball out and examined the signature in the fluorescent light. It was Willie Mays’s.“Look at this!” Mr. Banazek shouted. “Look at this!”He pulled out another ball. “Stan Musial!”Another.
The science of ping-pong

Aug 15, 2024 | zachschonbrun.substack.com | Zach Schonbrun

It’s been 27 years since IBM’s DeepBlue supercomputer shocked the world by beating the grandmaster Garry Kasparov in chess. AI has since proven capable of outperforming humans in a lot of things, and counting. Where we still have the edge clearly - very clearly - is sports. But is that changing?