Jerry,

So, have they made these changes to the cushion in 2004 and then again in 2005? If so, I wonder why they are changing the cushion so often.

I believe I understand your implication that it isn't all genetics. Cheating is even harder to gauge then the increase in speed. But I have to tell you, I would be SHOCKED to find out that the number of cheaters in 2004 and 2005 is so much greater than the number of cheaters in other years. Cheating has been around for years. Maybe the "juice" is better, but then we have the issue again that this is not being captured in the numbers of Beyer. I guess you would say this goes back to his methodology of using "pars".

I am not a scientist and to be perfectly honest, it was probably my worst subject. But, I don't think your assumption that the shorter the generation length is, the more likely there is to be more rapid evolution/advancement, is correct. Otherwise, wouldn't cockroaches, bees and salmon, with their short life cycles and quick "new generations", be advancing more quickly than humans on the evolutionary scale?