An indoor rower (also known as an ergometer, ergo, erg or rowing machine) is a machine used to simulate the action of rowing on land. Originally a training method, it has become established as a sport in its own right. The term also refers to a participant in this sport.
Ergo comes from the Greek word ergon - meaning "work". Therefore ergometer literally means "work meter".
Layout of the machine
Although several simple machines exist for casual home use, there are three major models: RowPerfect, WaterRower and Concept2. Of these the Concept2 is the most popular, and is generally considered the standard training option for world-class rowers. Each machine consists of a flywheel connected to a chain and handle. The rower pulls the handle, causing the flywheel to spin. The flywheel has a damping mechanism applied (using either air or water) that is intended to simulate the feel of an oar moving through water. Depending on the machine the rower either moves back and forth as part of the rowing action, or the rower remains stationary and the flywheel mechanism moves. The machines where the rower remains stationary are generally considered to better simulate the feel of a boat.
Each machine features a digital performance monitor that can display the athlete's work output in watts, calories, or notional "metres" that are roughly calibrated to correspond to the speed of a four-man boat on the water.
Competitions
Concept 2 organise a large number of indoor rowing competitions all over the world, including the world championships (a.k.a. CRASH-B Sprints) held in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. The usual distance for competition is 2,000 m.
The world records for 2,000 m are currently (as of September 2004) 5:37.0 for men and 6:28.6 for women.
Although the idea expressed in "cogito ergo sum" is widely attributed to Descartes, many predecessors offer similar arguments —particularly Augustine of Hippo in De Civitate Dei (books XI, 26), who also anticipates modern refutations of the concept.
The phrase "cogito ergo sum" is not used in Descartes' most important work, the Meditations on First Philosophy, but the term "the cogito" is (often confusingly) used to refer to an argument from it.
Descartes felt that this phrase, which he had used in his earlier Discourse, had been misleading in its implication that he was appealing to an inference, so he changed it to "I am, I exist" (also often called "the first certainty") in order to avoid the term "cogito".
Cogito ergo sum is a translation of Descartes' original French statement, Je pense, donc, je suis.
Although the ideas expressed in cogito ergo sum are most commonly associated with Descartes, they were present in many of his antecedents, especially Saint Augustine in De Civitate Dei (books XI, 26) who makes this argument, and anticipates modern refutations of it.
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