Human 2.0 Olympics

Oscar Pistorius is a double-amputee South African athlete. I admire anyone that rises above life's challenges. I admire anyone that becomes a model for others. I admire anyone that decides they can do anything they want to. I really do! Oscar Pistorius is one of these humans that decides an obstacle is just that...an obstacle! I admire that! So much, you have no idea.

Despite this admiration I could only agree with The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) decision to not allow him to compete in the Olympics. I really think his prosthetics give him an unfair advantage over the other athletes. Although I agree with that decision, I find it quite ironic that he has an "unfair" advantage....interesting when you think many of these athletes are using performance-enhancing drugs....so much for fairness!

This decision was overturned by the The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). I think this is a mistake and lack of courage from the CAS. How far will that go? The door is now open to Human 2.0 Olympics where genetically-modified cyborgs will compete. The Olympics will now become an ideal that is even farther than it ever was before for kids.

To get a spot on the start line in Beijing, Pistorius has to qualify but many doubt he will make it, apparently he is not in the shape he should be for that ultimate racing exerience. This does not matter wheter he makes it or not....the damage is done!

Also published on my other blog: Darwinslegacy.blogspot.com

Cyborg 2.0 (My tribute to Kevin Warwick)

Intelligent Design exists! Kevin Warwick, from University of Reading, the self-called Cyborg 2.0, proves it. In an article published in 2005 in International Journal of Adaptative Control and Signal Processing, Warwick and colleagues designed an implant that can be well tolerated by the body (96 days) and that can establish a by-directional link between the human nervous system and a computer. In their article, they demonstrate the many uses of this implant. For images, they are copyrighted, see Dr. Warwick's site (http://www.kevinwarwick.com).

Reference: Gasson et al. 2005. Invasive neural prosthesis for neural signal detection and nerve stimulation. Int. J. Adapt. Control Signal Process. 19: 365-375

An article on Warwick published in Wired Magazine HERE
and HERE