Wow, never heard of this person before. Thanks for sharing!
Yes, it's really cool with people who, for no reasons other than the challenge itself, seek to push the boundaries of what is perceived as possible. In the Space sector, we often hear Astronauts refer to their experiences of people like this, as well as famous mountaineers who climb mountains "because they are there", when they talk about why we should go further into Space not only because for scientific and technological benefits, but also because it's in our very nature to continue pushing the boundaries.
While I do think this guy is completely nuts, I really do appreciate that we have people like him challenging our assumptions of what is possible in this world.
Cool, I'm glad I've turned you onto him! When you have some time you should check out some of those links at the end, like the one to the study is very interesting, and even though it is outside of your field, I think you'll get something out of it.
You're right he is completely nuts, and like you say, if there weren't people like him, prepared to push boundaries. Then we'd stagnate as a species.
I love the fact that he has literally redefined biology in this area, I can't wait to start the challenge!
Cryptogee