Brave New World?

The article referenced above has inspired me to post today. Why? Think about how competitive our world has become, as reference in the article.

I have always been competitive. I think it's in our human nature. I also support competitiveness. I believe that it can inspire others to also strive to be their best. It started with sports in my younger years, but now it's in business and programming. I want to develop the best products and offer the best service.

But I have great disgust for athletes who use performance enhancing drugs in their sport. I think if an athlete is found to have been using drugs at all that their records should be wiped from the books. I believe that people should accomplish great things on their own.

So why should brain enhancing drugs be any different? Why should I loose out to someone who is perfectly normal by all psychiatric points of reference yet takes Ritalin to be able to focus more clearly, to retain attention and to ultimately out perform me in my job? But let's jump into the sports relation again.

Do you think that if the public did not scrutinize it so, that owners and managers of professional sports would care whether or not their athletes were doping to win games? I bet that most wouldn't. To them, for the most part in what I can see in sports today, it’s all about them winning and the monetary windfall they receive from that. If the US government had not gotten involved with baseball as they had this past year, then we would still have a lenient punishment for those who dope.

McGuire? I watched the Senate hearings, and by no means did he ever say that he had not ever used steroids. Did he learn his lesson? sure, but along the way he made millions because of it, and has his name in history. Should he? I would say no way. Why should he when most of the people he beat out those years were not doping (just an example, I am sure that there were those who were).

So, let's now take a look at Corporate America. Are we really any different? The Knowledge Athlete (as I like to call myself LOL) does not make near the money that these guys do, but generally they are some of the most highly paid and highly skilled in the company, so I'll make the relation. Generally, if they are successful then so is the company. Think about it, if you write the killer app and get it to market faster your company makes a killing off it. So why wouldn't your boss want the sharpest minds in the industry working for them, doped or not? But is it right?

If I as a computer scientist can achieve more by taking a mind enhancing drug, then why wouldn't I. There is benefit from it, both directory and indirectly. Directly because I achieve more in my career, and indirectly because I can develop the killer app that man kind may benefit from. But should I?

Did Einstein? Did Packard? Did Jobs? I don't know, did Jobs? Anyone know? Maybe he did. :)

My point is that if we feel as a society that is is wrong for it to happen in sports, then why would allow it in our every day life? If we want to be better humans then it should be up to our guts, glory, drive, passion, dedication and will... Not the drug of the week.