The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet

After years of notable success, sports stars can suddenly lose confidence and go into a slump called “the yips,” a painful psychological dysfunction that can derail a career. Golfers get it more than most. Tennis star Ana Ivanovic, once rated number one in the world, lost her ability to make good serves, and for a time this derailed her career. However, she developed a different serve and rose back up to number five before retiring.

Most consider the yips psychological. However, the mind interacts with the body, which sometimes brings mischief to the process.

When pitchers suffer from the yips, it affects their ability to throw a ball to precise spots in the strike zone. The tremendously accurate pitcher Rick Ankiel got the yips and descended into the lowest professional leagues but then switched to the outfield, developed his batting, returned to the majors, and one year hit more than 50 home runs. The yips get only one and a half stars.

“Auld Lang Syne,” the title of a song with which we toast the year gone by, is a Scottish expression that means “for old times’ sake” (145). The song lyrics go back 400 years, but the current version, first presented by Scottish poet Robert Burns, dates to 1788, and the tune we use became the norm in 1799.