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Prosthetic-Limbed Runner Disqualified from Olympic Games
contraba55 wrote with a link to an Engadget story on a sign of the postmodern times. Oscar Pistorius, a world-class sprinter, has been denied a shot at participating in the Olympics this year. He's a double-amputee, but he's not out because of his handicap; he's disqualified because he's faster than most sprinters. "The runner — who uses carbon-fiber, prosthetic feet — was reviewed by the International Association of Athletics Federations (or IAAF), a review which found the combination of man and machine to be too much for its purely human competitors. According to the IAAF report, the 'mechanical advantage of the blade in relation to the healthy ankle joint of an able bodied athlete is higher than 30-percent.' Additionally, Pistorius uses 25-percent less energy than average runners due to the artificial limbs, therefore giving him an unfair advantage on the track."
This is the first time I've heard of a handicapped person being discriminated against because they're too good. As someone who's hard of hearing, I find 99% of bias against me coming from the fact that I'm not good enough.
i am a soviet space shuttle
The 'blade' does look like a spring. When he's just walking around, one can see him bouncing up and donw a bit. So this seems reasonable. He might qualify if he used a different prosthetic technology. I just hope athletes don't start thinking about replacing their naturla legs to get 'a leg up'!
I am a transhumanist--behind it all the way. Stories like this trivialize the serious nature of transhumanism. It's not about implanting a bike or something. It's about the relief of suffering, and the unlocking of our true abilities. Read Kurzweil's latest books. Go to Transworld or the Singularity Summit. Betterhumans.com is growing in quality. Sentientdevelopments.blogspot.com feature George Dvorsky, an experienced thinker and speaker. The wise atheists among us don't need to be told the obvious--that our disabled are quickly become our first transhumans. The real developments await.
for people just like him?
It'd be unfair either way, for him or for the normal athletes.
If you allowed a amputees who became superior athletes after their injuries to participate in the olympics and they began winning, everyone would start cutting off their legs.
Does anyone know of any downside to lopping your legs off below the knee and "installing" a pair of these?
I know someone who's feet and ankle bones are fusing/disintegrating, why shouldn't they look forward to this?
I wonder how long it will be before cybernetic sports become a reality?
I mean, think about it. Soccer can be a rough sport but it's nothing compared to American Football. The game is faster and rougher and vastly supported (and in my opinion enhanced) by technology (helmets, pads, shoes, etc). But that would be nothing if players were augmented in such a way to play faster / better / stronger.
Granted, most athletes won't cut their feet off for speed enhancing powers a prosthetic might bestow just yet, but how far off are we from seeing "cybersports" develop and shift into the mainstream?
crazy dynamite monkey
First of all, he got trashed in a race against olympic caliber sprinters earlier this year. Second, as one of the previous posts pointed out, his cyborg legs were disqualified not him. If he grows new legs, he's in. Third, there are at least two problems that led to the disqualification of the prosthetics, 1. the prosthetics provide less air resistance and second, they enable the wearer to reverse his energy efficiency; meaning that he is faster at the end of the race than at the beginning. Human sprinters are usually slower at the end of the race. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=trackandfield&id=2937538 http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/trackandfield/news/story?id=2938043
We willna be fooled again!
I can tell you without an once of hesitation that if I could trade my legs for $20 million, I'd do it in an instant.
Sometimes I think sports should have Open Class and Stock Class. Stock Class athletes would be required to compete with a standard human body -- no enhancing drugs, no springy feet, etc. Open Class athletes could use anything they wanted: prosthetics, drugs, whatever.
:-/
There is a down side to Open Class...
"And it's one minute to go... 'Wild Man Jones' is injecting his final enhancers... whoa, look at those convulsions! And there's the bell... they're off and running, except for Jones. Guess those latest enhancers were still Beta-test quality, heh heh... oh wait, he stopped moving. Yikes, look at that head explode! I haven't seen anything like this since I watched Scanners!"
Of course sometimes I think the above would make sports MORE popular.
Should we limit the training time athletes may invest? After all, you shouldn't have to destroy your career to have a chance at winning (these are, after all, supposed to be amature athletes).
It's time to take the gloves off. Let the Olympics be a spectacle of what the human form (which intrinsically includes human technology) can do. Bring on the biotech!
In fact, Bonds *does* wear a performance-enhancing mechanical device on his elbow, that not only allows him to lean over the plate but also locks his swing into a groove and provides some mechanical advantages.
What I'm listening to now on Pandora...
What they really need to do is time someone, cut off their legs, and them give them prosthetics's. That would prove once and for all that they aren't an advantage. Missing 30% of your leg muscle more than makes up for a 30% mechanical advantage.
what sig?
Sadly, the original Olympics did not have any competitions for women... And I have no intentions of watching weiners flop around during a race!
No sig for the moment.
I've wanted this ever since I watched the Olympics and realized how bored I was. Putting people who won the genetic lottery into similar training programs and seeing who comes out on top isn't that interesting to me. But pushing people 'beyond' their natural limits, and in the process potentially expanding the meaning of being human and the possibilities for the species at large...that's interesting.
Everything will be taken away from you.
It's something that I would never recommend, counsel, or facilitate, but it does seem to fit your needs.
Hey x0, you're an ass. The only energy you get from a bicycle is what you put into it, so why don't we let bicyclists race against runners? The same goes with those spring-legs.
But on the other hand, it's brought to light an old thought of mine, because I've seen those springy "shoes" before: if they are so much more effective, then why don't we see more springs in regular running shoes?
I mean sure, for competitions there might be strict rules (as for racing bicycles, for instance), but for amateur or non-competition use there should be a huge benefit to incorporating springs. Maybe not as exaggerated as in disabled runners' "feet" (because care and training would be involved), but some form of booster between the shoe and the sole should be possible, as more than a mere kid's toy that is.
If people are walking, running, skating and biking across town, why not add 'bouncing' to the mix!
"Good news, everyone!"