The Right Take on Steroids
Kitty forwarded me
this article on the steroids issue, and it presents what I consider one of the best arguments against steroids that I have yet read.
Imagine that in the future we develop drugs that will enable you to become strong, powerful and lean without touching a barbell, drugs that will make you indefatigable without your having to do endurance training. Coupled with this, let’s say we develop the capacity to hook someone up to a computer and infuse him with all the great skill and experience of the most seasoned prodigy, a la The Matrix. We would then have athletes and artists who would have tapped the upper limits of human potential, individuals who would have achieved the highest levels of mastery without lifting a finger. Now, I put it to you, would you be interested in watching these programmed organic robots ply their trades?
Exactly. Now, as I was reading that, a rebuttal came briefly to mind. Remember all the robot battle shows they used to have on TV a few years ago? I used to really enjoy those robots going after each other. But why? Not because they were robots, but because they were robots designed by human beings. And, like all things designed by human beings, they were imperfect.
When I was a kid, I used to fantasize about a baseball team made up of my favorite superheroes. The Flash could steal bases at will, while Superman could catch any ball hit to the outfield. Bouncing Boy could bounce over any tag, etc. But of course, after the initial novelty wore off, it would be boring as hell.
