Olympic gold: to die for?

[Kulindahr]

Looking around at genetic stuff thanks to a thread here about a gay gene test, I ran across something that started out interesting, but then got scary. Read for yourself:

Testers fear reality of genetically modified Olympians | Reuters


Here's a snippet of the shocking part:

Chicago-based Bob Goldman, a doctor and founder of the U.S. National Academy of Sports Medicine, asked elite athletes in the 1980s whether they would take an enhancement which guaranteed them gold medals but would also kill them within five years.

Guess how many said "yes".

 

[refujiunderground]

there's no value or appreciation for life anymore. people are willing to die over things that really matter and the sad thing is that society promotes that way of thinking too. there's way too much emphasis over bullshit such as being attractive to people or getting the latest iphone5 when it comes out. it seems like to just be alive being able to walk around with all your limbs and good health is not enough anymore.

and it's usually countries like america where people are so well off where they are worried about bullshit that this happens over. you have places in the world where people are worried about getting a meal. they don't give a fuck about a damn gold metal because you can't eat that shit. basically, this is a result of what happens when people have too much where they have a lot of time on their hands to worry about bullshit.

 

[ChickenGuy]

There seems to be some sort of twisted 'romance' and 'honour' about dying young to a very idiotic few. They'd rather their name lit up in glory and die, than to live a normal life.

But what we should really be worried about is if in say 50 years, genetic modification becomes feasible. It WOULDN'T stop at athletes, it would expand to the rich, the powerful, the celebrity, etc.

And, of course, it then would create yet another division within society between the haves and have-nots, based on money to afford such enhancements. We would see a 'genetic elite' where this was normal practice, and an 'in-bred underclass' of impoverished and stigmatised poor.

I hope this never becomes a realistic technology - it will only lead us down the slippery slope to selective breeding and eugenics and a modified superior race. Ugh.

 

[Just_Believe18]

That is creepy.

 

[swdguy]

To be clear, they all said yes?

 

[Kulindahr]

To be clear, they all said yes?

In the original survey, fifty-two percent said yes. Every year since, it's been between fifty and fifty-four percent.

I wonder what they would have said if told they could have a silver and live ten years.

 

[swdguy]

Ah, I didn't see the bottom part of the article. My bad.