Let Oscar Pistorius run. And ignore DVICE.com’s opinion on him.

Before we begin today, it’s important to get across a couple of issues - 1) I don’t know Peter Pachal, he’s probably a nice guy, 2) anything I say is likely to go into the bitbucket, or at worst, generate traffic for both DVICE.com and heresy.com. I’m under no delusions here - my site is fucking small beans. So, there’s no real downside for me posting this.

On the other hand, Pachal’s announcement that SHIFT: Why the Olympics should say no to cyborgs like Oscar Pistorius is a sad, sad case of anti-transhumanism nonsense and fear of the future. Pistorius, for those that don’t know, is a double leg amputee that runs fast with his cool cheetah legsprings.

Watch him run.

So, here’s the basic facts that people argue:
- Oscar may have an advantage because the springs could give him an advantage. Up to 25% less energy expenditure - I’m… leary of that very convenient number. (See NYTimes article)
- Oscar isn’t a threat yet (the Slate article covers this nicely)

And then Pachal writes “Let’s create the cyberolympics” which is the “separate but equal” view of transhumanism and human-plus. I read the poetry and hear the announcers, everyone is in awe of the body conditions of Olympic athletes, but when they speak, they speak of the soul, the Olympic heart and dedication required to be in those competitions.

If anything, the Paralympics should be folded directly into the Olympics to celebrate all of these athletes’ souls, because there will be a time that being human is a choice, and being something other than human will be the norm. And until there’s enough people with cheetah springs to run their own heats, at least let people the possibility human spirit now. Give him and every consciousness an opportunity for a gold medal, just like the whole bodied humans.

This isn’t a handicap run where we feel sorry for the cripple, or fight against engineering over the human spirit. Dedicating one’s life to run fast, or play ball, or wrestle is a dedication of a lifetime. We normals envy their physiques, but yearn for the Olympic spirit.

If “Tech is our Obsession” is the slogan for DVICE.com, it shouldn’t be making luddite proclamations but championing their cause, and the same goes for Mr. Pachal. I realize he intended something LIKE this, but let’s tear the barriers down, not move them around. I visit DVICE.com (and Engadget, Grinding.be, IO9.com, etc.) so I can see what is possible, not read about the fear of technological change. We get enough fear mongering in our everyday lives.

Until then, reload the video and watch Oscar run. Watch them all run.

(Another decent article about the Olympic committees decision here).