Althouse: "It just doesn't make sense to be walking around on your day legs at one height and then you're six inches or so taller on your running prostheses."

September 6, 2012

"It just doesn't make sense to be walking around on your day legs at one height and then you're six inches or so taller on your running prostheses."

"You don't want the sport turning into a circus where, you know, doubles walk in with barely any training under their belt and they are running able-bod (able-bodied) qualification times."

Is Oscar Pistorius a hypocrite?

51 comments:

Rob said...: The whole thing does not work. I jump, you use a trampoline. We both use only the force produced by our bodies. Who goes higher?; 9/6/12, 1:09 PM
Nonapod said...: If we're gonna allow cyborgs to compete, complaining about better artificial limbs seems akin to complaining about a particular NASCAR cars having an unfair advantage due to superior construction.; 9/6/12, 1:14 PM
kentuckyliz said...: Make "mere" doping seem honest.

Lance Armstrong is owed a large apology.; 9/6/12, 1:17 PM
coketown said...: Hahaha, I thought it would have been funny if some guy on, like, fifteen foot tall stilts qualified for the Olympics and beat all the able-bods by walking a leisurely pace. And why not? We're letting augmented humanoids compete against regular humans. Where do we draw the line? Right below the knee if you ask me.; 9/6/12, 1:18 PM
rhhardin said...: Let everybody wear limb extensions.

It's all an impedance problem. There's a limit to how fast you can go regardless, given by what kind of shape you're in.

Regular legs just aren't a good impedance match.

It's like you're paddling a canoe with a teaspoon. Nevertheless there's a limit to how fast you can paddle a canoe with any paddle.; 9/6/12, 1:18 PM
David said...: He's a professional athlete. They are generally not notable for analytic prowess.; 9/6/12, 1:18 PM
coketown said...: Bonus points for the first person to photoshop Pistorius into a garbage can with the caption "Oscar the Grouch." Hahaha.; 9/6/12, 1:19 PM
edutcher said...: What KY Liz said.

He's a great Paralympian. He should have left it at that.; 9/6/12, 1:19 PM
rehajm said...: You don't want the sport turning into a circus...

Too late. And you're dragging the rest of sport down too..; 9/6/12, 1:22 PM
coketown said...: And let's not forget that man--sorry, hermaphrodite--who ran against women this year. I know what I saw. That was a dude in a sports bra running against women. The Olympics has turned into a progressive farce. Things like gender and handicap are bourgeois concepts. So is this idea of "species." Can't wait for chimpanzees to qualify for the uneven bars and giraffes for the 1,500m!; 9/6/12, 1:22 PM
NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...: He could have kept quiet and simply gotten longer legs next time.; 9/6/12, 1:26 PM
Tyrone Slothrop said...: Pistorius opened a can of worms. The first thing I thought of was the similarity of his situation to gay marriage. They both consist in trying to make a thing what it isn't, never was, and never will be, ignoring the fact that solutions exist that don't fracture the traditional structure. But of course, fracturing the traditional structure is what it's all about.; 9/6/12, 1:31 PM
YoungHegelian said...: I was listening to the BBC World early this morning (~2:30AM EDT) and the announcer who reported on this story just couldn't get over himself that he could say "victorious Pistorious" and it rhymed! He used the phrase repeatedly.

I just lay there in the dark thinking "smart-ass putz".; 9/6/12, 1:36 PM
chickelit said...: rhhardin said...
Let everybody wear limb extensions.

Women do this. Nothing slays men like the mincing walk of woman in heels.; 9/6/12, 1:39 PM
kentuckyliz said...: I bet Lance is pistorious.; 9/6/12, 1:45 PM
SteveR said...: They are going to have to draw some lines they have avoided up to now. Lots of people will get pissed off and have their feelings hurt but soon enough the good stories will wear thin.; 9/6/12, 2:03 PM
Leland said...: I wonder how much Pistorius' day legs weigh compared to his running legs. Although, I do think the quote is from Jack Swift and not Pistorius.; 9/6/12, 2:03 PM
Indigo Red said...: No. Pistorias was 6ft 1in with full legs and he is the same height with the running blades. His Brazilian competitor is 5ft 11in with full legs. but with his blades he is 6ft 1in which is also the maximum height allowed by the Paralympic governing authority. If the Brazilian is allowed to increase his height with the blades, the everyone will go to the maximum allowed and personal achievement will be essentially nullified in this group of elite athletes making a mockery of the very games intended to end mockery. There should be no equipment advantages, only equipment to restore a modicum of normalcy to the damaged body.; 9/6/12, 2:07 PM
prairie wind said...: Anyone else look at Oscar Pistorius and think, "Ah...Mr. Tumnus."; 9/6/12, 2:08 PM
Known Unknown said...: More like PISSYtorious .... amirite?!?!?!?!?!!?; 9/6/12, 2:10 PM
jungatheart said...: "Can't wait for chimpanzees to qualify for the uneven bars and giraffes for the 1,500m!"

Giraffes! Sicko.; 9/6/12, 2:19 PM
paul a'barge said...: At first I thought this blog entry would be about women wearing high heels. Wrong.; 9/6/12, 2:20 PM
jungatheart said...: The wide world of sports. Like the X games, it would be pretty cool to test the limits of prothesis lenghts, types of materials, etc.

A side 'benefit' would be this weird perk of modern warfare.; 9/6/12, 2:28 PM
test said...: From our July 17 thread...Marshal said...
I am skeptical [Pistorius] doesn't get an advantage. He can control his leg length for starters.
7/17/12 11:43 AM

leslyn said...
No, he really can't. The prosthesis has to be proportional to his body and within his normal experience. Think of a guy on stilts at the fair trying to run a 400-yard dash.
7/17/12 11:51 AM

I just wanted to highlight the obvious: that our lefty trolls have no idea what they're talking about. For some reason it doesn't bother them to make idiotic assertions devoid of evidence.

Must be auditioning for Baghdad Debbie's job. Her credibility is just about used up, so Democrats will need the new mouthpiece.; 9/6/12, 2:32 PM
jungatheart said...: Speaking of Wasserman, I appreciate Anderson Cooper's comment on her 'alternate reality.'; 9/6/12, 2:47 PM
Cedarford said...: Marshal - Not everything in the world is able to be boiled down to a "democrat side" vs. "republican side".

Many dems as well as republicans were on both sides of the Pistorus issue.
I side with Tyrone - Pistorus and (his sponsors like Nike, and media cheerleaders at NBC) - opened a can of worms.; 9/6/12, 2:54 PM
Methadras said...: There is an inherent danger in body modification to gain an edge in professional sport. The rewards far outweigh the ramifications and consequences, so therefore it will be done to gain that edge.; 9/6/12, 2:55 PM
test said...: Cedarford said...
Marshal - Not everything in the world is able to be boiled down to a "democrat side" vs. "republican side".

The only reference I made to Democrats was a need to replace Baghdad Debbie. Are you suggesting she's moonlighting for Republicans?; 9/6/12, 3:08 PM
Hazy Dave said...: Did you see this 200 meter race?

Watch the guy in the lane 5. Slow off the line, and he takes a while to find his stride, but when he locks in, he moves (literally) like a gazelle, and passes the rest of the field like they're standing still.

They're going to have to take a NASCAR approach to approved prosthetics, probably within the next four years.; 9/6/12, 3:13 PM
Patrick said...: I recall hearing awhile ago that a large number of Olympic caliber athletes would take a drug that would significantly shorten their lives if it would give them an advantage in their sport.

I wonder how many would amputate and use a prosthetic if it becomes apparent that offers an advantage that would be allowed. I would guess the answer is well north of zero.; 9/6/12, 3:18 PM
wyo sis said...: I love the notion of day legs.
I'd like to have day and night legs. Day legs could be sturdy and not prone to getting tired, and night legs could be knock-out gorgeous wearing Laboutians.; 9/6/12, 3:39 PM
Anonymous said...: leave it wide open. let innovation continue to flourish. let people without legs run. it's amazing and I don't want some asshole bureaucrat stifling anything.; 9/6/12, 3:40 PM
Petunia said...: Of course Pistorius is a hypocrite. He's quite happy to use technology to his advantage when he wants to compete in the traditional Olympics, even though he's not at risk for lower leg and foot injuries like the other runners.

But when someone else competes WITHIN THE PARALYMPIC RULES and beats him, when he too could have used longer prostheses, his lack of sportsmanship comes out.; 9/6/12, 3:44 PM
ricpic said...: More than one prosthesis in a race is grotesque. It's like the way we have two lesbos on the Supremes -- grotesque.; 9/6/12, 3:48 PM
Known Unknown said...: He just needs legs that are 200m long.; 9/6/12, 3:48 PM
ricpic said...: Penalize wyo sis for teasing!; 9/6/12, 3:50 PM
wyo sis said...: ricpic
You Grouch!; 9/6/12, 3:57 PM
SunnyJ said...: I take you back to the original discussion on allowing this to begin with, and why its emotional and not logical critical thinking that arrived at the decision.

Besides the fact that of course he's a hypocrit..he was one for asking for special treatment in the first place, as he knows full well what the advantage is, and that he was getting special treatment. But, he's also one, because now that he slipped by, he'd like to slam the door shut behind him.

Please, enough with the emotional decision making and a little more critical thinking and problem solving using the facts and not projecting all the lost kittens in the world into every situation.; 9/6/12, 4:21 PM
Howard said...: Tyrone Slothrop said...
"Pistorius opened a can of worms. The first thing I thought of was the similarity of his situation to gay marriage. "

Exactly +6.66E66 Those fucking carpet munchers and peter puffers have taken over your mind. It's time for a visit to the Markus Bachmann clinic for deprogramming, Tyrone, before it's too late and you start splashing children in public fountains.; 9/6/12, 4:26 PM
CWJ said...: Hazy Dave,

That's an amazing and unreal video. He didn't even crouch at the start, and he looked like he was on stilts.; 9/6/12, 4:32 PM
Robt C said...: FWIW--Pistorius wasn't the one who said what you quoted in your post. That was said by the Australian guy the AP interviewed.; 9/6/12, 4:35 PM
Tyrone Slothrop said...: Howard said...

Exactly +6.66E66 Those fucking carpet munchers and peter puffers have taken over your mind. It's time for a visit to the Markus Bachmann clinic for deprogramming, Tyrone, before it's too late and you start splashing children in public fountains.

Er, what?; 9/6/12, 4:35 PM
Joe said...: Why was Pistorius even allowed to compete in both Olympics?

BTW, the claim that Pistorius's height is 6-1 on "real" legs is absurd since his "real" legs were amputated as a child and were never normal. The fact is we have no idea what Pistorius's natural height should be. Neither do we know what race times he would have had he been born and still had fully functional natural legs. Absent that, to assert with certainty that they artificial legs give no advantage is absurd.; 9/6/12, 5:46 PM
Indigo Red said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 9/6/12, 6:29 PM
Indigo Red said...: That's absurd, Joe. Human body proportions and ratios have been known for centuries.

The body width = 2 1/3 heads
The body height = 8 heads
Distance between nipples on chest = 1 head
Width of calf muscles together at lower arc = 1 head
Bottom of the knees = 2 heads from ground level
Etc, etc, etc.

From crown to chin bottom, my head is 8.5 inches X 8 = 68"/12" = 5 ft 6 inches. That's the height on my DL.

From the bottom of the knee to the floor, the leg is two heads: 8.5 x 2 = 17 in. From floor to knee, my legs are 17".

It's worked for centuries and continues to work. And you can even do it at home.; 9/6/12, 6:35 PM
raf said...: Human body proportions and ratios have been known for centuries

It would be interesting to see what the standard deviation around this is in the general population compared to athletes in various sports.

I find it difficult to believe that everyone exactly fits these proportions, even though they are valid in general, on average, etc.; 9/6/12, 7:23 PM
raf said...: Human body proportions and ratios have been known for centuries

It would be interesting to see what the standard deviation around this is in the general population compared to athletes in various sports.

I find it difficult to believe that everyone exactly fits these proportions, even though they are valid in general, on average, etc.; 9/6/12, 7:25 PM
Wally Kalbacken said...: They should have an open class, just to see how fast a given distance can be run, with no grief over specifications. Just imagine what a carbon fiber assisted high jump or pole vault could be!; 9/6/12, 9:10 PM
kentuckyliz said...: Implanted jetpacks for the jumping events! Wheeeee!; 9/7/12, 2:51 AM
Joe said...: Indigo Red, that's complete bullshit and you know it. You are talking about averages, not exact measurements. Some people have relatively long torsos, others relatively long legs. I knew a man with an enormous head, way out-of-proportion from his body. So, again, to say that you can "know" what the precise height should be of a man legless since his preteens is completely absurd. Hence there is a range.; 9/7/12, 2:48 PM
Joe said...: From crown to chin bottom, my head is also 8.5 inches. Yet I'm 5 ft. 8 inches tall.

My nipples are 9.5 inches apart.

My knees are 19.5 inches from the floor.

So much for your absolutes.; 9/7/12, 2:52 PM