Athletes & Students
The long struggle to ban and detect performance-enhancing
drugs in athletes is well known. A large number of top athletes from many
different countries in all kinds of disciplines have been implicated, punished,
or disqualified. Olympic gold medals had to be returned. It’s a cat and mouse
game.
In recent times, students were reported to take
performance enhancing drugs to increase their odds to pass examinations, or to
enhance their memory or concentration etc.
Is Human History Any Guidance
History is full of examples
where performance enhancing drugs were involved: Soldiers since ancient times
were given or have taken drugs so they lose fear or feel no pain; many artists
experimented with all kinds of drugs to explore visions, emotions, perceptions
etc.; shamans, or medicine men have taken drugs to have better visions or make
better predictions etc. I am sure, there many more examples.
Why Do We Object?
Why do we object so strongly
to such drugs? Because they provide an unfair advantage; or we want sports to
be an ideal contest between pure humans, clean and untainted; are we concerned
about the health of those who take the drugs; or are we concerned that young
people would ruin their health etc.
Acceptance In Our Daily Lifes
But do we not widely accept
coffee which could also be seen as a performance enhancing drug. Do we not
accept cosmetic surgery as a means to make our body look better? Do we accept
laser surgery for our eyes sometimes in the hope we will have better than 20/20
vision or better visual acuity than with glasses? What about drugs to counter
so called erectile dysfunction? Do men really only take this drug because they
are incapable of erection?
External Vs. Internal Performance
Enhancement
Do we not accept that every so
often equipment or clothing of athletes become better due to advances in
technology and material science? So if material things outside the body of an
athlete improve they are usually approved, however we take a very different
position when an athlete seeks to enhance his own body or mind even though
every athlete can choose for him/herself to do the same.
What about modern prosthesis? In particular, cheetah prosthetic
legs? Will there be a runner with such prosthesis at the upcoming London
Olympic Games in 2012?
The Human Quest For Self Improvement
I would posit that the human
quest for self-improvement is unstoppable. Competing athletes will try anything
they can to win, this is part of the competition. If I do not take it, the
other guy will.
If there was a drug out there
that, e.g., improves memory and when taken properly was not a risk to someone’s
health, why should we not take this drug. Or how about a drug that improves eyesight
or physical endurance? This same argument could be extended to other drugs.
I would further posit that the
advances of medicine and biology will soon deliver more drugs that can enhance
our performance in much more targeted or specific ways. It is quite conceivable
that in the not so distant future performance enhancing drugs will become part
of everyday life.
The human-computer interface is already around the
corner. How about brain interfaces with the computing cloud? Well, that is
enormous performance enhancing without drugs.
What remains: Teenagers or young adults may require
permits or prohibitions like alcohol. Medical guidance should probably be
required for adolescents and recommended for adults.
This is a Brave New World!
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