| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"Uncle Dollar Bill" |
| Date: |
12 Jun 2004 11:42:32 PM |
| Object: |
Semi-OT: Transhumanist olympics - feasible? |
In the Olympics, competitors are often disqualified for using this or
that "performance enhancing (drug/item/tactic/what have you). I
really rather like this setup in that it helps define the limits of
unadulterated human performance and endurance. However, the complete
barring of performance enhancers is somewhat of a roadblock in some
ways. So I came up with the idea of "The Transhumanist Olympics".
My vision of the TO is that of an event in which various methods of
performance enhancement are pitted against each other, gradually
resulting in the evolution of increasingly sophisticated enhancements.
Competitors could use any legal means at their disposal, the
wealthiest of them having the greatest advantage (such is life, eh?).
The primary rule would be that one could only use what is considered
part of one's own body - these could be muscles stimulated by some
sort of (legal) medical enhancement, artificial limbs, implanted
microchips, etc... etc... etc...
Another rule would have to be that all enhancements be legal for the
area in which the TO are being played. There is a very definite and
beneficial side-effect to this: The social policies of any given area
would have an impact on the performance of competitors overall.
Regions where overall performance is notably higher will yield some
insight into what sort of social system is most conducive to the
advancement of transhumanism.
Naturally, I really like this idea. But I'm curious what others
think. Are there flaws or obstacles I'm overlooking? Aside from the
Christians picketing the event as "Unholy" and "Playing Gawd(TM)" and
such, I mean. Just curious. Thanks! :-)
--
L8r,
Uncle Dollar Bill
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| User: "Elf M. Sternberg" |
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| Title: Re: Semi-OT: Transhumanist olympics - feasible? |
27 Jun 2004 03:12:47 PM |
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(Uncle Dollar Bill) writes:
My vision of the TO is that of an event in which various methods of
performance enhancement are pitted against each other, gradually
resulting in the evolution of increasingly sophisticated enhancements.
Competitors could use any legal means at their disposal, the
wealthiest of them having the greatest advantage (such is life, eh?).
The problem with this analysis is twofold: one, it presumes
artificial limits, which is a bit like saying that two Nissans tricked
out in the same ways and with exactly the same drivers will have
different performance times. In many cases, transhumanism will have an
effect on the human brain, not just the body, and the supreme
competitors will be as optimized in the head as they are in the body.
You may as well watch Robot Wars.
The other problem is that the competitors will in no way reflect
the audience. Part of the survival of sport is its value as a
spectacle; if you argue that the participants are human beings _like the
audience_ then you have the vicarious thrill of watching someone do
something you, yourself might have been able to do, if you'd had the
time, energy, and will. And luck.
Otherwise, you're watching Robot Wars again.
Elf
--
Elf M. Sternberg
http://www.drizzle.com/~elf/
Foras gradiamur.
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| User: "Fred Stone" |
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| Title: Re: Semi-OT: Transhumanist olympics - feasible? |
27 Jun 2004 05:30:12 PM |
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"Elf M. Sternberg" <elf@drizzle.com> wrote in
news:1088367166.486979@yasure:
UncleDollarBill@SpamMeNot.com (Uncle Dollar Bill) writes:
My vision of the TO is that of an event in which various methods of
performance enhancement are pitted against each other, gradually
resulting in the evolution of increasingly sophisticated
enhancements. Competitors could use any legal means at their
disposal, the wealthiest of them having the greatest advantage (such
is life, eh?).
The problem with this analysis is twofold: one, it presumes
artificial limits, which is a bit like saying that two Nissans tricked
out in the same ways and with exactly the same drivers will have
different performance times. In many cases, transhumanism will have
an effect on the human brain, not just the body, and the supreme
competitors will be as optimized in the head as they are in the body.
You may as well watch Robot Wars.
The other problem is that the competitors will in no way
reflect
the audience. Part of the survival of sport is its value as a
spectacle; if you argue that the participants are human beings _like
the audience_ then you have the vicarious thrill of watching someone
do something you, yourself might have been able to do, if you'd had
the time, energy, and will. And luck.
Otherwise, you're watching Robot Wars again.
I'm reminded of one of Niven & Pournelle's novels: "Achilles' Choice".
--
Fred Stone
aa# 1369
Cthulhu for President! Why vote for a lesser evil?
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| User: "Enkidu" |
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| Title: Re: Semi-OT: Transhumanist olympics - feasible? |
27 Jun 2004 03:39:04 PM |
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In article <1088367166.486979@yasure>, says...
UncleDollarBill@SpamMeNot.com (Uncle Dollar Bill) writes:
My vision of the TO is that of an event in which various methods of
performance enhancement are pitted against each other, gradually
resulting in the evolution of increasingly sophisticated enhancements.
Competitors could use any legal means at their disposal, the
wealthiest of them having the greatest advantage (such is life, eh?).
The problem with this analysis is twofold: one, it presumes
artificial limits, which is a bit like saying that two Nissans tricked
out in the same ways and with exactly the same drivers will have
different performance times. In many cases, transhumanism will have an
effect on the human brain, not just the body, and the supreme
competitors will be as optimized in the head as they are in the body.
You may as well watch Robot Wars.
The other problem is that the competitors will in no way reflect
the audience. Part of the survival of sport is its value as a
spectacle; if you argue that the participants are human beings _like the
audience_ then you have the vicarious thrill of watching someone do
something you, yourself might have been able to do, if you'd had the
time, energy, and will. And luck.
Otherwise, you're watching Robot Wars again.
I read a SF short story. Americans, Russians, Chinese, all got
disqualified when a honest man took over the genetic testing. Some
little country won big, because they were the only country not sending
in genetically modified athletes.
Anybody recognize this story?
--
Enkidu - AA# 2165
"Today, the theory of evolution is an accepted fact for
everyone but a fundamentalist minority, whose objections
are based not on reasoning but on doctrinaire adherence
to religious principles"
James D. Watson
http://www.nobel.se/medicine/laureates/1962/watson-bio.html
"The Astonishing Hypothesis is that `You,' your joys and
your sorrows, your memories and your ambitions, your
sense of personal identity and free will, are in fact no
more than the behavior of a vast assembly of nerve cells
and their associated molecules."
Francis Crick
http://www.nobel.se/medicine/laureates/1962/crick-bio.html
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