While the Winter Olympics are going on, here’s.
A story of mine on the dream of a future Transhumanist Olympics: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/zoltan-istvan/is-it-time-for-a-transhum_b_4077194.html #transhumanism
Oracle Team USA made a historic comeback to beat Emirates Team New Zealand in the American’s Cup in San Francisco last month. I have closely followed the sport of sail racing for over 30 years, and what astonishes me is how much faster and better the boats are today than they were three decades ago. Sailing speeds and performances have doubled in some cases.
The same cannot be said about most other major sports. Even Michael Phelps, considered by many the greatest living athlete, is only a few seconds faster than swimming world records set 30 years ago. Most sports have not allowed scientific improvements or technology upgrades to their athletes and the equipment they use. I find that disappointing.
What is on the rise in athletics, however, are multi-million dollar campaigns and testing measures designed to ensure athletes don’t cheat by using performance enhancing drugs and technologies. Some athletes even complain about undergoing TSA-like testing procedures right before their events. Does anyone else see a problem with that? Does anyone else see something anti-progressive about the state of our competitive sporting industry today?
As an advanced society full of technological wonders, perhaps it’s time we consider upgrading our idea of sports and rethinking what constitutes an exemplary athlete. Perhaps it’s time for something more modern and exciting, such as the transhuman athlete.