Life often is "[un]fair" race !!!

 

If you think –‘life is a race! – remember most times it is never a fair race !! Starting the same point may be thought as a fair start .. .. ..but !! 

Life is no contest of feet and steel;

when wheels wake to their own heartbeat,

the race forgets its name and stride.

 

When people compare, they conveniently forget or ignore the fact that life does not provide similar situations to all – for some the path is strewn with difficulties. Here in this picture – race about to start between legs and wheels – the start line is the same … .. but there can be a fair race between human / animal legs and propelled wheels – a total mismatch as systems differ fundamentally in power delivery, endurance, terrain handling, infrastructure needs, safety, and social purpose. A fair contest must therefore define environment, rules, and goals so the comparison tests the intended abilities rather than mismatched attributes. 

The mismatches  coule be — physical, biological, tactical, social, and ethical !! 

Mechanical wheels convert fuel or electricity into continuous high power; legs produce intermittent muscle power and fatigue.   Vehicles sustain higher speeds for long durations without the recovery needs humans have. Humans need rest, hydration, and sleep; vehicles only need fuel or charge and maintenance.  Motors produce instant torque and consistent acceleration profiles; humans take time to reach peak speed and cannot sustain repeated high accelerations.  Wheels are efficient on smooth surfaces; legs excel in uneven, soft, or complex terrain (rocks, staircases, dense undergrowth). 

         Human reaction time, vision, and balance constrain rapid high-speed maneuvering; vehicles (with driver or autonomous control) can be equipped with sensors and computers to sense and react faster or in different ways.  Human muscles suffer microtrauma and fatigue; biological recovery is slow compared with mechanical refueling or swapping batteries.  

Humans and vehicles follow different implicit “rules.”  Next time when you feel defeated, understand that the race was not fair and perhaps you could never have won … .. and it is the same when you think you have beaten someone in the race!

 
Regards – S Sampathkumar
21.7.2026