Legs

I am fascinated by Aimee Mullins and her outlook on life, despite having no legs. After viewing the ten minute speech and hearing her positive outlook on her situation and how it relates to technology, I am fascinated by this girl. As an avid runner myself, I've always asked myself, "What would I do with no legs."
I am intrigued with how advanced our world has become with manufacturing fake body parts. Otherwise handicapped individuals now have the opportunity to walk-- or even bike, run, swim, or become a track star and model like Aimee Mullins. If I had been alive 30 years ago, I might have seen this coming. At the pace technology moves, its no surprise we have robotic like parts that can be attached to the complex human body. However, I never could have predicted quite how far technology has taken robotics, or as big of a cultural debate that would arise.
While there are a vast numbers of implants and technologies that have been created by humans that could be implanted into humans (cochlear implants, ears implanted on any part of the body, sense machines, to name a few), I will simply focus on the culture implications of legs.
Aimee Mullins, for example, had to have her legs amputated by her first birthday. According to her website , she participated in all normal activities with her friends, who all had real legs. She later went on to graduate with all academic honors and become a track star, model, and actress in movies. She now frequently speaks and works with non-profits and is the center of a variety of art pieces, displaying different legs Aimee wears. Is this fair? I never thought there would be a day where we'd be asking, "Is it fair for someone who has fake legs to have fake legs?" There is much irony in this statement, but Aimee Mullins does have some advantages. She can change her height at any moment. Her legs can match her dress. She can put on special made legs to help her run faster. At what point will technology advance far enough so someone like Aimee could attach jets to her legs and fly up in the air?

I personally think that Aimee was born into this world with a disadvantage, and I admire her for taking the situation she was in and making beyond the most of it. As robotics continue to advance, it will be interesting to see how people react. If people can buy special additions to their bodies (which, if you think about it, breast implants, etc. are already an example), how much more of an advantage will they have?