here is a fascinating article by
aimee mullins, athlete and double amputee, about the perceived advantage athletes with the "cheetah legs" prosthetics have.
it's very interesting how we seem to have some sort of innate sense about what is and is not "natural"—that is, what constitutes an "unfair advantage"—but that this sense isn't necessarily particularly rational. mullins uses the example of tiger woods whose performance increased dramatically after lasik eye surgery improved his vision from being nearly legally blind to having vision on the cusp of what is humanly possible. is that fair? for that matter, are glasses? what about binoculars?
it's strange because obviously a lot of technology goes into sports, but for the most part, we don't really think about it much. if you're not looking for it, a lot of it looks pretty similar. but try replacing the modern soccer ball with one of the old leather ones from back in the day. it's almost like an entirely different sport.
