let me run down a scenario:

Tiger Woods is arguably the best golfer around today. he has innate abilites and uses the abilites to compete. He reads greens exceptionally well and that helps him win tournaments.

Bob lost an eye when was 2. He has had a cybornetic implant in his eye socket that behaves like an eye but is mathmatically perfect. it can read greens too but, through it being forced to use cameras and circuits to calculate distance and topography, reads greens nearly perfect and transmits trajectory and speed directly to bob's brain. he uses this ability to help him win tournaments.

Which player is playing more fairly?

If Tiger and Bob were two complete beings playing with the same deck of cards it would be evenly matched. As soon as you introduce the non-human element, the gate is wide open. Objectivity is lost completely.

These blades may or may not enhance his abilities. If he steps on the field he will be under scrutiny and he will never have a "clean" win. There will always be arguments and probably asterisks.

I dont know if the sports world should ever open its doors like this because the premise would taint everything it touches. I am not being hateful or xenophobic in any way.... I am just stating simple fact the the sports world will change forever we start allowing modifications. Hell.... it already has started with all the HGH and roid controversies running amuck. If we get worked up over chemicals making players unfairly stronger or better, then what are we going to do when Steve Austin shows up to run the 400m???

 

I am in agreement with you. In the post above I said "Could they not allow him to race and then (should he win or place), give an alternate medal based on his standing?" I believe if his times are competitive, this could be one solution. I never claimed it to be the only one.

I guess I like seeing the competitive spirit displayed....

 

They should let him compete bar none.

Primogen, what your example doesn't show is that still to compete with tiger the guy would have to be able to hit as precisely. The big blue supercomputer couldn't beat the worlds best human chess players.

Despite the advantage he may have, he has to have the ability to utilize that advantage.

 

true, but all sports are inherently supposed to be played by non-augmented human players. If this was not an underlying moral in all sports there would be no controversy in performance enhancing drugs.

modifications like these, whether sought after by otherwise healthy individuals or the by-product of a handicapping injury or birth defect, would still represent a paradigm shift in the way sports are played if it is allowed to happen.

we are opening a door that can never be shut and we will forever have to qualify excellence in physical performance on different levels once this precedence is set and accepted.

The age of the asterisk is upon us.

 

Raj, regardless of whether that theoretical dude could hit as well as Tiger Woods it still wouldn't be fair.

I mean, I'm a fat-ass slow runner. So if I go to compete should I be given a head-start or ANY other advantage? Heck no.

Dirty Harry said it best, "a man's got to know his limitations."

 

I'm not saying that it's inherently fair. Primogen is right the astrek is a good thing. It's like the shark suits in swimming. All things being equal it makes the swimmer faster.

So we are all pondering if that's a fair advantage. Well my personal opinion is that yes, let it fly.

Is it fair that the guy with the longest kickoff in the NFL was a guy that was born without the front of a foot? The front of his foot ended up being a flat edge in a shoe, so it was like kicking a ball with a sledgehammer. Is that an asterik? He had no modifications, but had an advantage because of a deformity.


Pen, I really don't think a man's got to know his limitations. Personally all the greatest acheivements are because of people that don't know of believe in limits.

 

if he wins, all the athletes will be chopping off there knees for a set of these "legs"

 

wow i hate watching videos that are so biased like that