I kinda don’t know what to think about the Sub2 Project. Part Two of a story by Jere Longman in the New
York Times is below:
Science isn’t a passion of mine, but a growing interest. I’m fascinated
by the discovery this year of the sound of gravitational waves. Space time.
Ripples in the fabric of space.
But when it comes to what it means to be human, my old school brain takes
over. Not wild about human gene research, clones, the advent of robots assuming
more and more human roles.
What galls me is the idea of strapping measurement gear to a young
African boy to benefit those looking to advance the human body to the point
that it is a running machine that can do the amazing: Tear-ass around a
26.2-mile marathon course in under two hours. You know, the time it takes
middle-aged weekend warrior to run a half-marathon.
I understand that in pushing the human body through more advanced
training techniques there likely will be lessons to be learned so that my own training
can be improved, which will show up in my results. To run longer, faster,
stronger.
That being said, what I suppose bothers me most is the reduction of
running as a pure science. That rather than nurture the spirit and mind on a
long run, the Sub2 Project leaders see the human body as a means to an end. The
machine that gets overhauled so that it runs perhaps faster than it was meant
to run. So fast that you don’t notice the cardinal on the branch or even the
sun as it sets on the horizon.
Come to think of it, I might just run for my life from the Sub2 Project.
Next: Running for Your Life: Do You Read Newspapers?
