Comments on: This probably should be on the science board https://habitablezone.com/2012/08/04/this-probably-should-be-on-the-science-board/ Fri, 03 Apr 2026 22:41:18 -0700 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Robert https://habitablezone.com/2012/08/04/this-probably-should-be-on-the-science-board/#comment-17045 Robert Sun, 05 Aug 2012 18:19:14 +0000 http://www.habitablezone.com/?p=19427#comment-17045 Disputes over performance-enhancing drugs and prostheses would disappear if there were a "Cyborg Olympics" where advancing the technology was the whole point. The "Pure Human Olympics" would establish a baseline for the current crop of unaugmented humans, and heck, there you could be a traditionalist and require the athletes to perform bare of foot and everything else. Show the world they have nothing to hide... A Cyborg Olympics would be something to see. First off, no more flat running tracks. At those speeds the athletes would have to run inside an open toroid to avoid flying off into the stands. Pole vaulting between venues. The London-to-New York swimming competition. Anti-satellite archery. The mind just boggles.... Disputes over performance-enhancing drugs and prostheses would disappear if there were a “Cyborg Olympics” where advancing the technology was the whole point. The “Pure Human Olympics” would establish a baseline for the current crop of unaugmented humans, and heck, there you could be a traditionalist and require the athletes to perform bare of foot and everything else. Show the world they have nothing to hide…

A Cyborg Olympics would be something to see. First off, no more flat running tracks. At those speeds the athletes would have to run inside an open toroid to avoid flying off into the stands. Pole vaulting between venues. The London-to-New York swimming competition. Anti-satellite archery. The mind just boggles….

]]> By: Jody https://habitablezone.com/2012/08/04/this-probably-should-be-on-the-science-board/#comment-17010 Jody Sat, 04 Aug 2012 17:49:10 +0000 http://www.habitablezone.com/?p=19427#comment-17010 I watched that Frank...I teared up. Olympics aside...this is an amazing young man and we all could learn something from him. If we let ourselves. I watched that Frank…I teared up. Olympics aside…this is an amazing young man and we all could learn something from him. If we let ourselves.

]]> By: FrankC https://habitablezone.com/2012/08/04/this-probably-should-be-on-the-science-board/#comment-17009 FrankC Sat, 04 Aug 2012 17:42:15 +0000 http://www.habitablezone.com/?p=19427#comment-17009 what about shot puts and other strength events where they wear knee braces. The legs he uses are tech enough to be named Cheetah legs so your point is well taken. In any case he is a long shot to medal. what about shot puts and other strength events where they wear knee braces.

The legs he uses are tech enough to be named Cheetah legs so your point is well taken. In any case he is a long shot to medal.

]]> By: ER https://habitablezone.com/2012/08/04/this-probably-should-be-on-the-science-board/#comment-17005 ER Sat, 04 Aug 2012 17:03:40 +0000 http://www.habitablezone.com/?p=19427#comment-17005 To him, or the other competitors, regardless of what the committee says. Aren't wheelchair athletes faster than runners in some events? They don't get to compete with the others. And whether the man wins or loses, there will always be an asterisk by his name. Besides, it introduces yet another variable, the technical improvements sure to be incorporated into these prosthetics will make subsequent athletes of identical skill faster. That doesn't seem fair to runners who do not have access to these devices, or even past impaired athletes who didn't have access to the new tech. Remember the unease when vaulters switched from wood poles to fiberglass? I think its wonderful, both for the technologists who make this equipment, and the determined people folks who use them, but not in this arena. The influence of gear should be minimized as much as possible. The ancient Greeks, after all, competed in the nude, and barefoot. To him, or the other competitors, regardless of what the committee says. Aren’t wheelchair athletes faster than runners in some events? They don’t get to compete with the others. And whether the man wins or loses, there will always be an asterisk by his name. Besides, it introduces yet another variable, the technical improvements sure to be incorporated into these prosthetics will make subsequent athletes of identical skill faster. That doesn’t seem fair to runners who do not have access to these devices, or even past impaired athletes who didn’t have access to the new tech.
Remember the unease when vaulters switched from wood poles to fiberglass?

I think its wonderful, both for the technologists who make this equipment, and the determined people folks who use them, but not in this arena. The influence of gear should be minimized as much as possible. The ancient Greeks, after all, competed in the nude, and barefoot.

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