I guess you’re in the wrong echo chamber in this one.
But I agree, if it can be done relatively safely, and in a controlled environment, then we should do it. Humanity is progressing, through science and technology, and we can do things now that we couldn’t do before. Let’s put that progress on display.
The low hanging fruit is steroids. But other augmentation is a reasonable option too. There was already the famous example of Oscar Pistorius (before he was a murderer) where people were complaining that his artificial legs gave him a physical advantage while running. What happens when people start reinforcing their shins at older ages to remain competitive? Or changing how their joints work. Or whatever.
We as a society have already accepted that people modify their bodies: cosmetically, through pharmaceuticals, and through elective surgeries. But for whatever reason, the Olympics has remained in the “eugenics” era.
Unfortunately, the answer is going to be complicated by “we won’t know it’s safe in the long term without first doing it then waiting”.
The same issues applied to gender reassignment, but we somehow figured that out. If people want to become Heracles using medical augmentation, I say we let them – just carefully :)
I guess you’re in the wrong echo chamber in this one.
But I agree, if it can be done relatively safely, and in a controlled environment, then we should do it. Humanity is progressing, through science and technology, and we can do things now that we couldn’t do before. Let’s put that progress on display.
The low hanging fruit is steroids. But other augmentation is a reasonable option too. There was already the famous example of Oscar Pistorius (before he was a murderer) where people were complaining that his artificial legs gave him a physical advantage while running. What happens when people start reinforcing their shins at older ages to remain competitive? Or changing how their joints work. Or whatever.
We as a society have already accepted that people modify their bodies: cosmetically, through pharmaceuticals, and through elective surgeries. But for whatever reason, the Olympics has remained in the “eugenics” era.
That’s a big if
Unfortunately, the answer is going to be complicated by “we won’t know it’s safe in the long term without first doing it then waiting”.
The same issues applied to gender reassignment, but we somehow figured that out. If people want to become Heracles using medical augmentation, I say we let them – just carefully :)