Since the accident, he’s been able to do many things other humans can’t — and he’s not even fictional.

How does this man change his height at will and climb sheer cliffs of ice?

If you (like me) watch too many movies, you may not find this talk impressive right off the bat. But soon you’ll remember that Inspector Gadget isn’t a real person and Luke Skywalker’s awesome bionic hand in “The Empire Strikes Back” is … well, a costume. Back in the world of reality, the technology the speaker describes below is brand new and really effing impressive.

By one minute in, Hugh Herr has shown us the feature that makes him very qualified to talk about this subject. At 14:17, the comments he makes about human abilities are quite stirring. And for the stunning grand finale, head on over to 16:45 — it’s worth it.


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