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No because unlike sport, which is artificial competition for entertainment, mental work is real productive work that benefits society. Increasing our mental abi

by dejb 18y ago

No because unlike sport, which is artificial competition for entertainment, mental work is real productive work that benefits society. Increasing our mental abilities can make the the world a better place, the same cannot be said of steriods and sporting ability. Another difference is that steriods at the level taken by athletes use is demonstrably harmfull for their health, this is not necessarily true for mental boosters.

josefresco 18y ago
"which is artificial competition for entertainment, mental work is real productive work that benefits society" Uhhh, professional sport isn't 'real' work? I would would say without a doubt every single processional athlete probably works much harder then your typical white collar worker (due to the fact that they are not typical athletes) As far as "productive" goes, each pro organization is staffed with hundreds of people all doing 'productive' work which is possible because of the athletes that work for the corporation.
- dejb 18y ago
  I have nothing against professional athletes. In fact I admire them a lot. But let's face it, sports is a zero sum game from the perspective of skill level. What real difference would it make to the world if all the world's athletes were 10% less fast/strong/coordinated etc...? Would people still be interested and entertained by sports - of course they would. In watching sports people like to see a contest of the best but the absolute standard of the best doesn't really influence that value. This is even more the case in sports participation. People like to feel they can compete at a particular level but it is all relative. Now contrast this with mental abilities. If people can solve medical problems then they can prevent deaths and enhance health. If they can solve technical problems they can make peoples lives easier and allow them to achieve more. In general mental skills can make the world a better place. Not a zero sum game.
- yummyfajitas 18y ago
  Sports is artificial competution under arbitrary rules. There is no benefit to people violating the rules. Using steroids in sports is like riding a bike in the marathon. In contrast, regular "productive" work is not trying to be entertaining, it has other goals (e.g. moving packages from one place to another). If I ride my bicycle while delivering packages, more packages get delivered.

by dejb 18y ago

josefresco 18y ago

"which is artificial competition for entertainment, mental work is real productive work that benefits society" Uhhh, professional sport isn't 'real' work? I would would say without a doubt every single processional athlete probably works much harder then your typical white collar worker (due to the fact that they are not typical athletes) As far as "productive" goes, each pro organization is staffed with hundreds of people all doing 'productive' work which is possible because of the athletes that work for the corporation.

dejb 18y ago
I have nothing against professional athletes. In fact I admire them a lot. But let's face it, sports is a zero sum game from the perspective of skill level. What real difference would it make to the world if all the world's athletes were 10% less fast/strong/coordinated etc...? Would people still be interested and entertained by sports - of course they would. In watching sports people like to see a contest of the best but the absolute standard of the best doesn't really influence that value. This is even more the case in sports participation. People like to feel they can compete at a particular level but it is all relative. Now contrast this with mental abilities. If people can solve medical problems then they can prevent deaths and enhance health. If they can solve technical problems they can make peoples lives easier and allow them to achieve more. In general mental skills can make the world a better place. Not a zero sum game.
yummyfajitas 18y ago
Sports is artificial competution under arbitrary rules. There is no benefit to people violating the rules. Using steroids in sports is like riding a bike in the marathon. In contrast, regular "productive" work is not trying to be entertaining, it has other goals (e.g. moving packages from one place to another). If I ride my bicycle while delivering packages, more packages get delivered.