CoolHand writes:
"Sci-Tech Today talks about the role of technology in the Olympics from a unique perspective:
Every advance in the ever-accelerating juggernaut of sports technology threatens to widen the divide between Olympic haves and have-nots. Well-sponsored teams and rich governments pay top-end scientists and engineers to shape their skis, perfect their skates, tighten their suits, measure their gravitational pull.
I'm no luddite, but this seems to make these sports more about who can afford the best tech, and less about the true spirit of the games: bringing the best athletes from all countries together to compete. How can it be about the athletes, when some of the best athletes may never win due to lack of funding/tech?"
(Score: 2, Insightful) by EnsilZah on Tuesday February 18 2014, @08:42PM
Who is this 'you' that's removing them from all these aspects of life?
Sure they might show some aptitude early in life and they might feel pressure to perform, but you could argue the same about a musician or a mathematician who'd have a slightly different set of tradeoffs.
Ultimately it's an adult person's own choices and priorities.
I'd like to think these athletes find a form of personal expression in their chosen field, at least as much as I have in ones I've enjoyed as an amateur.
With that said, I personally have no interest in watching sports, I have no interest in who wins what, and from what I gather the IOC are a bunch of litigious assholes.
And these debates about performance-enhancing-whatever seem silly to me, it's just a set of rules that someone made up and anyone who's playing to win will try to reach the limits of.