As an undergrad, I took a Science Fiction class from a completely awesome professor who would allow his mind to be blown repeatedly in front of the class while he taught us books like Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, 2001: A Space Odessy, and Paradise Lost. "Ahhhh!!!!" he's say, " I know nothing man! These guys are thinking of stuff NO ONE HAS EVER THOUGHT OF BEFORE! They are imagining new ways of thinking, and technology that does not exist yet. They are making forecasts and predictions, and some of them are coming true." (Not a direct quote, but pretty close :) ).
So, yeah, Science Fiction is my bag. If a good meaty sci fi novel comes my way I dig my teeth into it like nothing else, and try and pinpoint the spots where the author is imagining things no one has ever thought of before.
In "The Naked Sun" I was blown away, not by Asimov's excellent discussion of robots, but by his discussion of "trimensional images" and the difference between "viewing" and "seeing".
Okay, so in Asimov's time, there were obviously such things as movies and television. But Asimov envisioned a society where EVERY form of communication was carried out by viewing people through trimensional images; in fact people in the novel from the planet Solaria had nervous breakdowns when they SAW people as opposed to VIEWING them.
Instantly my mind jumped to the metaphorical cyborg, a person comfortable with themselves when viewed or characterized through media. And I thought of webcams. We may not have perfected 3-D imaging without a screen yet, but many people view others on the computer while being hundreds of miles away from them.
Asimov's Solaria is a bit of a dystopia in the sense that it is an insular society where physical contact is distasteful. But so far in our society, "viewing" is more of a positive thing, it connects families who haven't seen each other in a while.
And later, when I was reading an article about how baby sonograms are shaping the way both moms and physicians think about healthcare and their unborn babies, I came across this passage:
"The real time fetus is a social fetus, available for public viewing and commentary at a much earlier stage than the moment of quickening, which used to stand for its entry into the world beyond the mother's belly." (Rapp 38)
All right, so I'm a mom, so my view here is a little biased (I do agree with the rest of the article, that it may cause the baby-to-be to be institutionalized a little early), but I love this idea that even before it's born, the fetus of the child becomes a social being to the parents. When I saw my son on the sonogram for the first time he was sucking his thumb, and from that point on he's always been a little busy beaver to me.
Maternal gushing aside, I think that the important thought behind all this is that in our society today, viewing is still a mostly positive thing. We don't necessarily use it to the detriment of our personal relationships, but to enhance the ones we already have and form new ones with people we may not have known otherwise. We can even use it to "view" a person who hasn't been born yet.
But can we keep the boundaries this clear cut? I can kind of imagine a time in the future where viewing and seeing becomes almost interchangeable; when you're walking down the street, brace yourself to bump into someone and then walk through them instead. Even that's not strictly a dystopian view though, interchanging viewing with seeing still means seeing. I suppose the dystopian bit of it would only happen if viewing became dominant. Or maybe it wouldn't be necessarily dystopian, but sterile, and sterility seems somewhat boring to me...
Maybe I should just stop labeling :).
Asimov, Isaac. The Naked Sun. Bantam Books: New York, 1965.
Rapp, Rayna. Real Time Fetus. Cyborgs and Citadels. Ed. Gary Lee Downey and Joseph Dumit. School of American Research: Santa Fe, 1997.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Monday, July 4, 2011
Ghost in the Shell: Blurring Boundaries (Even more)
Okay, I haven't done this in a while, but I've still been reading, in particular I've been reading "How We Became Posthuman" by N. Katherine Hayles, and Mein Gott! What a read that is. I'm still not done because in every single paragraph is new scientific/psychological/anthropological/literary theory that is so deep and thick that it's like reading through molasses. After I assimilate the knowledge she has to offer, I have a feeling a lot of stuff is going to start clicking into place, the most important of which is that the lines between metaphorical and literal cyborgs blur even more, and also the lines between robot/and cyborg blur even more, and we start understanding individuality and identity in this postmodern age as some murky grey soup
Oh, this is hard to articulate. But I'm going to focus on one thing right now, which is the blurring between the robot and cyborg. I think this is important because there are so many representations of robots: that is primarily mechanical and technological based "life", that it is just as important to consider the implications of the robot/cyborg blurring as the human/cyborg blurring. Which brings us to "Ghost in the Shell".
In "Ghost in the Shell" the main character, the Major, is a primarily cyborg character, artificially constructed. Throughout the movie, she is approached by the Puppet Master, a being constructed by information from networks. Both these people are non-human; the Major is so ridden with technological enhancements and implants that she might as well be what the puppet master is, a creature constructed primarily of information. At the end of the movie, these two being merge to create a new being, even more inhuman than their previous state... but at the same time closer to living. As far as I can gather, their sentience increases with their merging. Though I have to admit, I'm going to need to do some rewatching of that movie to fully understand the implications.
This got me to thinking about robots. Now, I like robots anyway; some of my best (fictional) friends were once robots. But it lead me to consider the opposing side of the cyborg... at what point does the cyborg stop being primarily human and start becoming primarily robotic? Hayles discusses this a lot in her book, considering what makes up sentience and identity and discussing how a being that one may consider unalive can become sentient.
This post has more questions then answers. If a sentient robot has one organic element (such as, say, artificially grown flesh), does that make it a cyborg? Can a person use enough technology that the technology begins to take over the thought processes and the person becomes more robot than human, even though he or she is a metaphorical cyborg? Would robotic 'personalities' identity forming, or just a 'slip case' for a Data-like interior?
I've decided to read Asimov's robot series to gain some more insight on robot theory. While the merging of flesh and technology is important, the beginning of these considerations, I think, lies in the imaginative ideas of science fiction writers who considered Robots.
Moment of insight: Frankenstein is a cyborg. I hadn't thought of it that way. How cool is that??
Oh, this is hard to articulate. But I'm going to focus on one thing right now, which is the blurring between the robot and cyborg. I think this is important because there are so many representations of robots: that is primarily mechanical and technological based "life", that it is just as important to consider the implications of the robot/cyborg blurring as the human/cyborg blurring. Which brings us to "Ghost in the Shell".
In "Ghost in the Shell" the main character, the Major, is a primarily cyborg character, artificially constructed. Throughout the movie, she is approached by the Puppet Master, a being constructed by information from networks. Both these people are non-human; the Major is so ridden with technological enhancements and implants that she might as well be what the puppet master is, a creature constructed primarily of information. At the end of the movie, these two being merge to create a new being, even more inhuman than their previous state... but at the same time closer to living. As far as I can gather, their sentience increases with their merging. Though I have to admit, I'm going to need to do some rewatching of that movie to fully understand the implications.
This got me to thinking about robots. Now, I like robots anyway; some of my best (fictional) friends were once robots. But it lead me to consider the opposing side of the cyborg... at what point does the cyborg stop being primarily human and start becoming primarily robotic? Hayles discusses this a lot in her book, considering what makes up sentience and identity and discussing how a being that one may consider unalive can become sentient.
This post has more questions then answers. If a sentient robot has one organic element (such as, say, artificially grown flesh), does that make it a cyborg? Can a person use enough technology that the technology begins to take over the thought processes and the person becomes more robot than human, even though he or she is a metaphorical cyborg? Would robotic 'personalities' identity forming, or just a 'slip case' for a Data-like interior?
I've decided to read Asimov's robot series to gain some more insight on robot theory. While the merging of flesh and technology is important, the beginning of these considerations, I think, lies in the imaginative ideas of science fiction writers who considered Robots.
Moment of insight: Frankenstein is a cyborg. I hadn't thought of it that way. How cool is that??
Friday, June 10, 2011
Cyborg, Deconstructed
I have been mulling over my identity a lot recently. It's something that I haven't really considered extensively before now... or I should say, I have, but it's been more of a surface question before now, and less of a holistic, deep delving question.
As this blog states, I consider myself a cyborg. A cyborg, which is a merging of human and technology. But I have recently been realizing something. I am not actually merged. I still think of myself as half Katy, the machine privileged person, and half Emma, the natural human privileged person. And the fact that Katy is privileged in that sentence should tell you something. To a certain extent, Katy seems more self actualized than Emma does. Her character has been explored, and delved into, and tested. Emma, who is the oldest side of me, but who is socially awkward, has not explored the full extent of her identity.
Again, as I state in the tabs at the top of the cite, I do not literally see myself as two people, it is more of a metaphorical split. I am just more uncomfortable with myself as a human being than I am as a cyborg. However, if we are all natural cyborg perhaps I should stop seeing my two 'realities' as "split".
The cyborg is a merging of human and machine. That means there is one human/machine hybrid in me, not two, or even more identities. We may feel, as cyborgs, that we have different identities, but in reality, our identities still converge within ourselves. This is why the cyborg is an empowering, and not disabling identity.
So... my premise behind this blog was a little off. I need to redo the tabs at the top of the page. The cyborg is not a seperate identity, it is a merging of the physical and technological into one, new, holistic identity.
I also need to start understanding myself, this strange Emma/Katy hybrid, a little better.
At this point in time, Emma is going through some rapid catch-up growth. She and Katy are finally beginning to converge. :)
As this blog states, I consider myself a cyborg. A cyborg, which is a merging of human and technology. But I have recently been realizing something. I am not actually merged. I still think of myself as half Katy, the machine privileged person, and half Emma, the natural human privileged person. And the fact that Katy is privileged in that sentence should tell you something. To a certain extent, Katy seems more self actualized than Emma does. Her character has been explored, and delved into, and tested. Emma, who is the oldest side of me, but who is socially awkward, has not explored the full extent of her identity.
Again, as I state in the tabs at the top of the cite, I do not literally see myself as two people, it is more of a metaphorical split. I am just more uncomfortable with myself as a human being than I am as a cyborg. However, if we are all natural cyborg perhaps I should stop seeing my two 'realities' as "split".
The cyborg is a merging of human and machine. That means there is one human/machine hybrid in me, not two, or even more identities. We may feel, as cyborgs, that we have different identities, but in reality, our identities still converge within ourselves. This is why the cyborg is an empowering, and not disabling identity.
So... my premise behind this blog was a little off. I need to redo the tabs at the top of the page. The cyborg is not a seperate identity, it is a merging of the physical and technological into one, new, holistic identity.
I also need to start understanding myself, this strange Emma/Katy hybrid, a little better.
At this point in time, Emma is going through some rapid catch-up growth. She and Katy are finally beginning to converge. :)
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Humans, the Natural Cyborg (Book Review/Summary)
Clark, Andy. Natural Born Cyborgs: Minds, Technologies, and the Future of Human Intelligence. Oxford University Press: Oxford, 2003.
Okay, this blog is rapidly becoming a way for me to brainstorm for my thesis, so this entry is going to be a review of the book "Natural Born Cyborgs" by Andy Clark (who is a very good writer, btw, made me chuckle a few times reading this). I think a statement from his book that most basically sums up his argument for us being "natural cyborgs" is as follows:
"Our self-image as a species should not be that of ancient biological minds in colorful young technological clothes. Instead our are chameleon minds, factory primed to merge with what they find and with what they themselves create." (141)
His argument is that we, as a tool using species, necessarily have sufficient plasticity of mind not only to integrate tools (and we're not just talking the computer-like tools I'm enamored with on this blog, we're also talking about things like pencils, books, hammers, wheels, etc), but also to extend our knowledge, sense of body, our sense of location, and ultimately our sense of self through these tools. Here's some examples of each:
KNOWLEDGE: This blog itself is a tool I am creating for myself to store information about the cyborg. I feel as though I "know" this information, but in reality, once I go back and look through stuff for my thesis, I'm probably going to browse through here to remember pertinent points I've thought of or considered.
SENSE OF BODY: If we use "Transparent technology" (see below) enough, we can extend our body through it. For example, by driving frequently the car becomes an extention of our body.
SENSE OF LOCATION: Clark uses the idea of telepresence to describe this idea; basically it's the thought of being able to extend your location from where you are standing to a different location. QB is an example of telepresence through a robot, though to a certain extent, video chat such as skype could also be considered a form of telepresence.
Other Definitions:
Transparent Technology: When using a tool we are used to, such as a pencil, a car, or a hammer, we are able to automatically make use of this tool without really thinking about it. The less thought we invest in a technological item, the more 'transparent' it is.
Opaque Technology: Technology which is counter-intuitive, and takes a lot of brain power to think about and use.
Clark does depend on the philosopher Daniel Dennet a lot, so I might check out what he has to say in Elbow Room, Consciousness Explained, and Content and Consciousness eventually.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Dora the Explorer: Training the Young Cyborg
Back, after a long interlude of finals!!
So, after we give birth to our wonderfully organic child, how do we first acquaint him or her with the wonders of the interwebs? Technology does not come naturally to small ones, though they do learn fast. How can we train them to relate the movement of the cursor to the movement of hands, and thus familiarize our children with the concept of becoming a cyborg?
We parents may not think of all this stuff while we're trying to save the walls from being crayoned on and trying to get the green stuff eaten as much as the white and yellow stuff. Nick Jr. on the other hand, has, and presents it to our offspring in the form of Dora the Explorer multiple times a day.
After a brief amount of research, I have been unable to find any evidence that Dora the Explorer started its life as a computer game, though I remember hearing that it did at some point. Must have been an internet rumor. Regardless, the opening sequence to the first two season consists of a camera panning a room, and eventually focusing in on a computer, where Dora and her friends are interacting in a computer game:
Throughout the show, children are encouraged to interact with the TV show as though it's a computer. When Dora or her Backpack encourages the children to point at something, a cursor-like arrow floats onto the screen and points and clicks on the right image:
So, after we give birth to our wonderfully organic child, how do we first acquaint him or her with the wonders of the interwebs? Technology does not come naturally to small ones, though they do learn fast. How can we train them to relate the movement of the cursor to the movement of hands, and thus familiarize our children with the concept of becoming a cyborg?
We parents may not think of all this stuff while we're trying to save the walls from being crayoned on and trying to get the green stuff eaten as much as the white and yellow stuff. Nick Jr. on the other hand, has, and presents it to our offspring in the form of Dora the Explorer multiple times a day.
After a brief amount of research, I have been unable to find any evidence that Dora the Explorer started its life as a computer game, though I remember hearing that it did at some point. Must have been an internet rumor. Regardless, the opening sequence to the first two season consists of a camera panning a room, and eventually focusing in on a computer, where Dora and her friends are interacting in a computer game:
(the backpack video is shown in its Spainish version)
Excellente! Not only have our children mastered some basic Foreign Language skills, but they have also mastered some basic computer skills as well.
Friday, April 1, 2011
The Cyborg and Geography
Back when I was an undergrad, my Dad, a geography professor, told me to always capitalize the world "Internet". When I asked him why, he told me, in no uncertain terms, that the Internet is a place.
Over the past couple decades, cyborgs have been slowly but surely colonizing the internet. At first, they constructed text based websites and forums. Myspace, Facebook, and blog sites gave people the capability to create their own "websites" without having to pay for server space or learn programming. Now, there are incredible ways to "own" property on the Internet: in the chat based game "Second Life" people are able to create their own online "world" for a fee. In the Facebook game YoVille the player is given their own Apartment to decorate.
A few years ago I read a series of books called the "Otherlands" series by Tad Williams: in it the main characters (as cyborg/avatars) travel through a virtual environment as vivid and "real" as the "flesh and blood" world. I'm afraid I can't remember the plot very well, but I do remember that I read this book just before MMORPGs became widespread and popular. It seemed like a fantastical idea at the time, one that was just beyond my grasp. Now, traveling through the the worlds of World of Warcraft, or my personal favorite, Minecraft, this sort of world is a living breathing reality... the only difference between the Otherland books and the cyber world is that the "flesh and blood" people using these VRs are not actually in the worlds... they do not consist of tangible geography... yet. We can't feel the pixilated rocks or breathe the digital air.
I guess that's something we're still waiting for. Meanwhile, check out this cool video of Minecraft: I was going to show shots from the world I'm creating, but my screen cam is a bit buggy (plus my world is nowhere near this cool yet)!
Over the past couple decades, cyborgs have been slowly but surely colonizing the internet. At first, they constructed text based websites and forums. Myspace, Facebook, and blog sites gave people the capability to create their own "websites" without having to pay for server space or learn programming. Now, there are incredible ways to "own" property on the Internet: in the chat based game "Second Life" people are able to create their own online "world" for a fee. In the Facebook game YoVille the player is given their own Apartment to decorate.
A few years ago I read a series of books called the "Otherlands" series by Tad Williams: in it the main characters (as cyborg/avatars) travel through a virtual environment as vivid and "real" as the "flesh and blood" world. I'm afraid I can't remember the plot very well, but I do remember that I read this book just before MMORPGs became widespread and popular. It seemed like a fantastical idea at the time, one that was just beyond my grasp. Now, traveling through the the worlds of World of Warcraft, or my personal favorite, Minecraft, this sort of world is a living breathing reality... the only difference between the Otherland books and the cyber world is that the "flesh and blood" people using these VRs are not actually in the worlds... they do not consist of tangible geography... yet. We can't feel the pixilated rocks or breathe the digital air.
I guess that's something we're still waiting for. Meanwhile, check out this cool video of Minecraft: I was going to show shots from the world I'm creating, but my screen cam is a bit buggy (plus my world is nowhere near this cool yet)!
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Steampunk: Making the Past Cyborg
A few weeks ago I fully discovered an excellent sub-culture called Steam-punk, which can loosely be described as the depiction of stories or even just settings with futuristic elements using Victorian technology. There are two manifestations of this sub culture: one is tacking advanced technology onto a Victorian setting, for example, drawing a flying locomotive into a Victorian Train Station, or writing a story where one of the characters is a robot that is powered by clockwork and steam.
The other manifestation of the culture is making current or futuristic culture Victorian -- for example some artisans post step by step instructions for decorating computers to give them a steam-punk flair, or take pride in 'tin etching', and some fan artists draw pictures of Star Wars with Victorian technology.
I believe this is an example of historicizing the cyborg. By creating modernized technology out of something archaic, aren't we trying to render history into something undichotomized? The differences between the Victorian era and today are vast, and Steampunk almost seems to be a way to help us familiarize ourselves with the future by associating it with the nostalgic past. Other dichotomies are vanquished in this genre/sub-culture. Many images depict women in shortened dresses or breeches, working alongside men with wrenches in steam powered dirigibles. Perhaps this implies that technology has the ability to erase established gender boundaries the way it does today, when look at the world through the internet.
The most popular fan accessory hands down seems to be the steam-punk goggles. These are usually modeled as a cross between aviator goggles with jeweler's lens attached; the better to see the tiny clockwork gears that power the intricately designed Victorian era AI. Now we look through computer screens to construct our programs, but perhaps with steam punk, Victorian era technology, goggles signify the same sort of power; the ability to see through the machine into the possibilities that it creates.
 |
| http://geekadelphia.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/steam_punk_abe_lincoln.jpg |
The other manifestation of the culture is making current or futuristic culture Victorian -- for example some artisans post step by step instructions for decorating computers to give them a steam-punk flair, or take pride in 'tin etching', and some fan artists draw pictures of Star Wars with Victorian technology.
 |
| http://www.slipperybrick.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/ain30-desktop-main_54.jpg |
I believe this is an example of historicizing the cyborg. By creating modernized technology out of something archaic, aren't we trying to render history into something undichotomized? The differences between the Victorian era and today are vast, and Steampunk almost seems to be a way to help us familiarize ourselves with the future by associating it with the nostalgic past. Other dichotomies are vanquished in this genre/sub-culture. Many images depict women in shortened dresses or breeches, working alongside men with wrenches in steam powered dirigibles. Perhaps this implies that technology has the ability to erase established gender boundaries the way it does today, when look at the world through the internet.
 |
| http://steampunk-beauties.tumblr.com/page/ |
The most popular fan accessory hands down seems to be the steam-punk goggles. These are usually modeled as a cross between aviator goggles with jeweler's lens attached; the better to see the tiny clockwork gears that power the intricately designed Victorian era AI. Now we look through computer screens to construct our programs, but perhaps with steam punk, Victorian era technology, goggles signify the same sort of power; the ability to see through the machine into the possibilities that it creates.
 |
| http://amatoc.com/images/articles/steampunk/steampunk_goggles.jpg |
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