4 ms·

Anabolic steroids is not the line though. Entirely natural substances, such as "blood doping," injecting your own stored red blood cells, is also prohibited. I

Anabolic steroids is not the line though. Entirely natural substances, such as "blood doping," injecting your own stored red blood cells, is also prohibited. I'm not sure I could come up with something more natural. Meanwhile Codeine, a synthetic drug, is permitted.

beloch 3y ago
Needless death for the sake of entertainment is the line. The reason why blood doping is not allowed in competitive sports is that it confers a sizable edge but carries significant risk of stroke and heart attack. If you allow it, then everyone needs to do it to be competitive, and if everyone is taking that risk, fatalities are bound to happen. Yes, many sports already carry a risk of serious injury or death. However, rules are used to mitigate and minimize the risks. While you can argue about the ethics of permitting risky sports, removing drug rules from sports is much more difficult to justify. Drug enhanced performance will not offer a spectacle to viewers that is appreciably different, but it will cause needless deaths. Thiel basically wants to build himself a gladiatorial ring. Not cool.
- sshine 3y ago
  The cyberpunk novel has the caricature of a young guy jacked up on so many enhancements he's cut his life down to a couple of years. You get to be a living computer game character, and all you have to do is not think about the future. Living your life in the fast lane, now condoned by society.
- AdamJacobMuller 3y ago
  > However, rules are used to mitigate and minimize the risks. Where does the rule draw that line and why is it not an arbitrary one? Why is your judgement of that line better than Peter Thiel's or the actual athletes involved judgement?
  - beloch 3y ago
    It's not my judgment, but that of the IOC, practically all existing sporting bodies, and medical doctors. The claim that the things they ban are perfectly safe is extraordinary, and cries out for extraordinary evidence.
huytersd 3y ago
How could you even get caught doing blood doping?
- AdamJacobMuller 3y ago
  track marks? I suppose if they test your blood and there is "too much" hemoglobin in the blood, you fail? Another arbitrary limit.

beloch 3y ago

Needless death for the sake of entertainment is the line. The reason why blood doping is not allowed in competitive sports is that it confers a sizable edge but carries significant risk of stroke and heart attack. If you allow it, then everyone needs to do it to be competitive, and if everyone is taking that risk, fatalities are bound to happen. Yes, many sports already carry a risk of serious injury or death. However, rules are used to mitigate and minimize the risks. While you can argue about the ethics of permitting risky sports, removing drug rules from sports is much more difficult to justify. Drug enhanced performance will not offer a spectacle to viewers that is appreciably different, but it will cause needless deaths. Thiel basically wants to build himself a gladiatorial ring. Not cool.

sshine 3y ago
The cyberpunk novel has the caricature of a young guy jacked up on so many enhancements he's cut his life down to a couple of years. You get to be a living computer game character, and all you have to do is not think about the future. Living your life in the fast lane, now condoned by society.
AdamJacobMuller 3y ago
> However, rules are used to mitigate and minimize the risks. Where does the rule draw that line and why is it not an arbitrary one? Why is your judgement of that line better than Peter Thiel's or the actual athletes involved judgement?
- beloch 3y ago
  It's not my judgment, but that of the IOC, practically all existing sporting bodies, and medical doctors. The claim that the things they ban are perfectly safe is extraordinary, and cries out for extraordinary evidence.

huytersd 3y ago

How could you even get caught doing blood doping?

AdamJacobMuller 3y ago
track marks? I suppose if they test your blood and there is "too much" hemoglobin in the blood, you fail? Another arbitrary limit.