For today’s post we read an article by Andy Clark entitled Natural-Born Cyborgs. I thought there were some interesting ideas in the article, but mostly I just found it wordy and hard to follow. Clark seemed to constantly be describing complex ideas with even more complex words. He basically talked about how we are all cyborgs, and that our differences from other animals make us this way. One specific part of the article I liked is when he described how our brains worked. He said we’re “bad at logic and good at Frisbee”. This means our brains are bad at complex planning and logic, but good at perception and controlling actions.
We also looked at a website of a professor who creates cybernetics. He even grafted a cybernetic arm onto his own. The arm moves when he does. He also creates large moving cyborgs. I thought this site was very interesting. While some of the grafting stuff can make you a little squeamish, the idea of a man becoming part machine has always interested me. We find this idea all over in the movies and on TV. Just today, I was watching I, Robot on TV. Will Smith has a pretty hard core cybernetic arm in the movie. Also, both Anikin and Luke Skywalker have cybernetic hands in Star Wars. It’s sort of strange that there are so many instances of robotic arms in our society. I suppose it’s due to our arms being very important to our livelihoods, and us liking the idea of them being extremely powerful and strong.
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2 comments:
I definately though that notion that "we're bad at logic and good at frisbee" was interesting. Just through the simple use of calculators to solve problems or typing things in a computer to obtain information which doesn't necessarily have to stay with us. It's crazy. I think Stelarc was pretty interesting myself and that arm did seem pretty amazing but you should look into his other links on his website saying that we can replace our body parts because there is a point where they are not going to last or be as functional and has this sense of immortality in his website which wigged me out a bit. -H-
The problem that I have with the use of the word cyborg is that it makes me think that we need such technology to survive, that it is not only an extension of ourselves, but one that is necessary and keeps us alive. If this truly is the definiton, then I would have to disagree that we are becoming more like cyborgs. I don't need my cellphone to survive, at most times I don't even take it with me through the day. Furthermore, we all remember what it was like living without a computer or internet, and we got along just fine. Even when you view the Stelarc piece, his third ear and arm were interesting, but he didn't need them to survive. Furthermore, they weren't even functioning, which makes me think it's even less like a cyborg than I originally thought. What do you think?
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