I wonder why people so often use athletic or industrial metaphors when talking about excellence in the sciences or technical fields? I look at mathematics for example as a creative endeavor. It scratches the same itch for me as drawing or making music. Why would I want to put any emphasis, as a creative person, on the rate of achievement in any of these fields? I would rather make one profound original contribution, if given my druthers. That is an extreme chosen for the sake of argument, but don't you admit that this might be just as valid a model of scientific or mathematical excellence?