The Sum of the Parts vs the Whole

Manuel, Cho, Sam

There’s been a lot of discussion in the medical community about enhancement 

The same drug can be a treatment for one person and an enhancement for the next

a well-known example is Ritalin                                                               

I did hear about that indeed. So would you say this is also the case for prosthetics?

Absolutely! Just think about the controversy about Oscar Pistorius 

His competitors insisted that his prosthetics gave him an unfair advantage: an enhancement 😊

If I can chime in on this point, not a prosthetic, but there was a similar controversy about running shoes 😅

Running shoes? Well, in a sense we might consider shoes as some kind of prosthetic … 😅

Maybe, but thanks to these spring-loaded soles Eliud Kipchoge ran the first marathon under 2 hours

Oh yes, I remember that bit of news! It was quite a big deal… lots of assistive technology too 👍

It didn’t really count as an official record, but it did show what technology can do to improve performances                           

Even though it didn’t count as world record, it still counts for our article! 😊 I’d say this is enhancement too

I would say so too, but I also think we should distinguish between tools and prosthetics …

Good point! What do you think, Cho?

I’m not sure you can make a clean break between those two, there will always be grey area’s

Does it only count as a prosthetic if you cannot take it off? Between a crutch and an artificial hip there’s a lot of room for discussion

That’s right, same goes for cognitive tools, it’s a sliding scale.

Cognitive tools? 🤔

Yes: like pocket calculators, or basically any utility app on your smartphone …

I couldn’t get anything done without my digital to do lists and calendar! 😊

Basically, those enhance your memory: cognitive tools

I see what you mean, but that seems another category again! 😊