IPB

Welcome Guest ( Log In | Register )

3 Pages V   1 2 3 >  
Reply to this topicStart new topic
> Cyborg beats normies in official race, The Future Is Now
Buster
post Jul 16 2007, 09:11 PM
Post #1


Running Target
***

Group: Members
Posts: 1,246
Joined: 8-June 07
Member No.: 11,869



Second place Golden Gala winner (and double amputee) Oscar Pistorius probably won't get to run in the Olympics this year (even though he qualifies) because his cyber legs are "too good".

I already have my 20/13 lasik eyes, when can I buy my leg upgrades?

Site includes amazing video of him running in the race: http://www.newscientist.com/blog/technolog...r-too-able.html
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
James McMurray
post Jul 16 2007, 09:29 PM
Post #2


Great Dragon
*********

Group: Members
Posts: 5,430
Joined: 10-January 05
From: Fort Worth, Texas
Member No.: 6,957



Cool. I've been following this guy a little bit and hope they eventually let him in.
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
FrankTrollman
post Jul 16 2007, 09:34 PM
Post #3


Prime Runner
*******

Group: Banned
Posts: 3,732
Joined: 1-September 05
From: Prague, Czech Republic
Member No.: 7,665



The lack of effective traction makes him unable to compete effectively in rough terrain or slippery conditions, but at the olympics they are supposed to guaranty a good running surface over which he'd be competitive.

I definitely want him in. If nothing else simply because watching athletes saw their own legs off for competitive advantage is something I don't want to miss out on.

-Frank
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
Unarmed
post Jul 16 2007, 09:45 PM
Post #4


Moving Target
**

Group: Members
Posts: 500
Joined: 3-January 07
From: Calgary, Alberta
Member No.: 10,517



There is some debate about whether or not he'd be able to make the South African Men's 400m team if he was allowed to compete in qualification for the Olympics, but I'd love to see him try.
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
Buster
post Jul 16 2007, 09:51 PM
Post #5


Running Target
***

Group: Members
Posts: 1,246
Joined: 8-June 07
Member No.: 11,869



QUOTE (FrankTrollman)
I definitely want him in. If nothing else simply because watching athletes saw their own legs off for competitive advantage is something I don't want to miss out on.

-Frank

Yeah and I thought the Olympic swimmers shaving off all their body hair was hardcore.
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
eidolon
post Jul 16 2007, 09:53 PM
Post #6


ghostrider
********

Group: Retired Admins
Posts: 4,196
Joined: 16-May 04
Member No.: 6,333



That guy is pretty amazing. I read an article on him in Wired a while back. I definitely want him to get in.
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
Demerzel
post Jul 16 2007, 10:11 PM
Post #7


Running Target
***

Group: Members
Posts: 1,206
Joined: 9-July 06
From: Fresno, CA
Member No.: 8,856



NRP's Talk of the Nation did a piece on the topic, hear it here:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.p...toryId=10580771

Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
Lindt
post Jul 16 2007, 10:39 PM
Post #8


Man In The Machine
*****

Group: Dumpshocked
Posts: 2,264
Joined: 26-February 02
From: I-495 S
Member No.: 1,105



Wow, he covers the last hundred feet just astoundingly fast. He was like 8 strides from passing the guy in first...

Either way, wickedly impressed.
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
James McMurray
post Jul 16 2007, 10:42 PM
Post #9


Great Dragon
*********

Group: Members
Posts: 5,430
Joined: 10-January 05
From: Fort Worth, Texas
Member No.: 6,957



Makes me wonder if the guy who beat him is part of those claiming it's unfair.
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
hobgoblin
post Jul 16 2007, 10:44 PM
Post #10


panda!
**********

Group: Members
Posts: 10,331
Joined: 8-March 02
From: north of central europe
Member No.: 2,242



im guessing its the IOC thats claiming unfairness, and those are mostly overweight, balding men in suits...

all in all i dont really know what to say, at the one hand i would love to see it happen, on the other hand it can open all kinds of cans of worms and other stuff...
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
hyzmarca
post Jul 16 2007, 10:52 PM
Post #11


Midnight Toker
**********

Group: Members
Posts: 7,686
Joined: 4-July 04
From: Zombie Drop Bear Santa's Workshop
Member No.: 6,456



Knowing the IOC's obsession with normalizing blood oxygen levels, it'll probably require that all athletes be full cyborgs with precisely tuned bodies once the technology comes to fruition, all in the name of fairness. After all, an ideal Olympic game is one in which there is a complete tie.
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
Rotbart van Dain...
post Jul 16 2007, 10:57 PM
Post #12


Hoppelhäschen 5000
*********

Group: Members
Posts: 5,807
Joined: 3-January 04
Member No.: 5,951



Hey, it works for car racing...
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
hyzmarca
post Jul 16 2007, 11:46 PM
Post #13


Midnight Toker
**********

Group: Members
Posts: 7,686
Joined: 4-July 04
From: Zombie Drop Bear Santa's Workshop
Member No.: 6,456



Stock Car Racing is a game of strategy and teamwork; drivers work as a team and, at the end of the day, their team points matter more than who crossed the finish line first. The 400m dash is a game of running as fast as you can for 400 meters; the only that that matters is who crossed the finish line first.

Really, the IOA has no right to discriminate based on how many red blood cells a person has or what a person's legs are made out of any more than they have the right to discriminate based on what skin color a person has or whether or not he's circumcised.

And disallowing his competition probably violates the Americans With Disabilities Act.
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
Demerzel
post Jul 17 2007, 12:08 AM
Post #14


Running Target
***

Group: Members
Posts: 1,206
Joined: 9-July 06
From: Fresno, CA
Member No.: 8,856



Are you also pro doping? Do you advocate allowing all sterioids and drugs in all sports?
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
hyzmarca
post Jul 17 2007, 12:28 AM
Post #15


Midnight Toker
**********

Group: Members
Posts: 7,686
Joined: 4-July 04
From: Zombie Drop Bear Santa's Workshop
Member No.: 6,456



Yes, I am pro doping. I'm in favor of applying 1) any thick liquid or pasty preparation, as a lubricant, used in preparing a surface and 2) an absorbent material used to absorb and hold a liquid, as in the manufacture of dynamite.


I'm in favor of not discriminating against differently abled people, whether they are less abled or more abled.

I'm also in favor of not being so anal-retentive as to count people's blood cells and measure people's hormone levels.




I'm also in favor of using real words, which doping, when used in the context of drug use, is not.
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
toturi
post Jul 17 2007, 12:34 AM
Post #16


Canon Companion
**********

Group: Members
Posts: 8,021
Joined: 2-March 03
From: The Morgue, Singapore LTG
Member No.: 4,187



The question would be where do you draw the line? If an athlete has a condition that requires steriod treatment or some drug that has a side effect of enhancing performance, do you allow it? The man has a disability and technology has provided a way to overcome it. If they allow this man to enter the Olympics(I wouldn't dispute his right to join the Para-Olympics), then why not allow athletes to take their drugs?
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
James McMurray
post Jul 17 2007, 12:43 AM
Post #17


Great Dragon
*********

Group: Members
Posts: 5,430
Joined: 10-January 05
From: Fort Worth, Texas
Member No.: 6,957



For an unreal word it sure seems to appear in an inordinate amount of dictionaries. Sorry hyz, but not liking a word doesn't make it stop being one.
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
Buster
post Jul 17 2007, 01:14 AM
Post #18


Running Target
***

Group: Members
Posts: 1,246
Joined: 8-June 07
Member No.: 11,869



The Olympics are nice, but I'd love to see Augmented Olympics where all steroids, drugs, and cybernetics are fair game. I'd pay big money to see a 'roid-raged cyborg toss a caber into the parking lot. :D
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
hyzmarca
post Jul 17 2007, 01:20 AM
Post #19


Midnight Toker
**********

Group: Members
Posts: 7,686
Joined: 4-July 04
From: Zombie Drop Bear Santa's Workshop
Member No.: 6,456



QUOTE (toturi)
The question would be where do you draw the line? If an athlete has a condition that requires steriod treatment or some drug that has a side effect of enhancing performance, do you allow it? The man has a disability and technology has provided a way to overcome it. If they allow this man to enter the Olympics(I wouldn't dispute his right to join the Para-Olympics), then why not allow athletes to take their drugs?

Well yes, that's the entire point of not being anal retentive.

If an athlete has a medical condition that requires treatment, then it is simply inhuman to punish that athlete for it. Athletic competitions are never going to be "fair" everybody has different DNA, different heights, different builds, different natural hormone levels, and etc. This is quite normal and natural. It is literally impossible to make athletic competitions fair without disqualifying everyone who is not a robot or a literal clone of their standard athlete. And people shouldn't try because when they try we end up in the world of Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron, a whole different type a dystopia where exceptional people are brutally executed by the Handicapper General if they dare to remove the heavy weights that hold them down.

Of course, allowing unrestricted steroid use would create an unstoppable spiral amongst anal-retentive athletes who are under the extremely bizarre delusion that the potential for Olympic glory is more important than being paid, which is why it should only be allowed under a doctor's supervision.


And it isn't a real word in relation to drug use. It is a slang word. Its use by official agencies, such as the World Anti-Doping Agency is nothing less than the cold-blooded murder of the English language and should be punished by fiery nuclear death. :S
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
James McMurray
post Jul 17 2007, 01:36 AM
Post #20


Great Dragon
*********

Group: Members
Posts: 5,430
Joined: 10-January 05
From: Fort Worth, Texas
Member No.: 6,957



Then sign up Miriam-Webster for the death squads. Despite being one of the most respected dictionaries in the world they've given in and made it a real word, without even the slang tag.
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
Demerzel
post Jul 17 2007, 01:45 AM
Post #21


Running Target
***

Group: Members
Posts: 1,206
Joined: 9-July 06
From: Fresno, CA
Member No.: 8,856



I'm with James, I'm going to take Merriam-Webster's word on this one.

Where is the line drawn? Can a paraplegic use an electric wheelchair? Can I shoot myself out of a cannon? Is it still running if you don't have an ankle?
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
hyzmarca
post Jul 17 2007, 01:46 AM
Post #22


Midnight Toker
**********

Group: Members
Posts: 7,686
Joined: 4-July 04
From: Zombie Drop Bear Santa's Workshop
Member No.: 6,456



Miriam-Webster has become rather candy-ass in recent years. They let "ginormous" in, for crying out loud. You can't get any more candy-assed than that.
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
Demerzel
post Jul 17 2007, 01:51 AM
Post #23


Running Target
***

Group: Members
Posts: 1,206
Joined: 9-July 06
From: Fresno, CA
Member No.: 8,856



They are more of an authority than you, regardless of their supposed candyassedness. Now there's a word for you.
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
Buster
post Jul 17 2007, 02:26 AM
Post #24


Running Target
***

Group: Members
Posts: 1,246
Joined: 8-June 07
Member No.: 11,869



Rules: bipedal humanoid form without wheels, rockets, or anti-grav and within the maximum range of pre-genetically-modified human size and weight. In other words: a munchkin.
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
eidolon
post Jul 17 2007, 02:42 AM
Post #25


ghostrider
********

Group: Retired Admins
Posts: 4,196
Joined: 16-May 04
Member No.: 6,333



Show me that he isn't working as hard as a "regular" athlete, and you might begin to have a point in barring him from competing. As I recall, one major point of the story that I read about him had to do with the fact that due to not having lower legs, his quads/glutes/etc. were working overtime. I'm paraphrasing, but you get my point.

Here we go, Wired's article on him: Blade Runner

Excerpt that I was thinking about:
QUOTE (Wired magazine @ Blade Runner)
The lower legs of able-bodied sprinters return all the energy pumped into them by the muscles at the hips and knees — and they give back more, thanks to power from the calves and ankles. Pistorius doesn’t have feet, ankles, or calves, of course, so he compensates: His strength trainer estimates that 85 percent of his power comes from his hips and the rest comes from the knees.


And that's just it. Detractors say that he isn't having to work as hard, but I have yet to see any actual evidence or measurements that show one way or the other. I tend to give less weight to naysayers when they come in the form of whiners that got smoked by who they're whining about (or that are worried they will be). Personal bias, I know.
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post

3 Pages V   1 2 3 >
Reply to this topicStart new topic

 



RSS Lo-Fi Version Time is now: 29th March 2024 - 12:13 PM

Topps, Inc has sole ownership of the names, logo, artwork, marks, photographs, sounds, audio, video and/or any proprietary material used in connection with the game Shadowrun. Topps, Inc has granted permission to the Dumpshock Forums to use such names, logos, artwork, marks and/or any proprietary materials for promotional and informational purposes on its website but does not endorse, and is not affiliated with the Dumpshock Forums in any official capacity whatsoever.