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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."
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.
I have friends in the deaf community, and I have seen others show discomfort around them because their communication methods are (according to some) more advanced. My friends can carry on complete conversations, silently, from across the room - using ASL. And they can, by lip reading, tell what others are saying even if they are out of voice range.
I judt got a nre Kinesis keybiartf so please excusr ant egregiou typos.
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.
I've fancied trying some of those spring legs for a while. They aren't just for amputees. The US military are, if I recall correctly, investigating this technology (in computer assisted form) for groundpounders (oh dear, the B5 fandom is showing).
I can see why he'd be disqualified, although it must be sad for him. Surely he must have realised the chances were slim though, those things are far too good.
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...
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.