technoculture314-09

Ever since that class I have not been able to shake the idea of cyborgs from my mind. Are they truly becoming a reality? Are we becoming less human the more we absorb technology into our everyday lives? I find that I feel as though I’m "detached" from the world in a sense if I happen to leave my mobile phone at home for one day and I become anxious that I’m missing out on some important aspect of a friends life that they share with me through text. However, there are several other ways in which humans are becoming more machine rather than man. For example, take a look at a person who has a serious heart condition and needs a pace maker to ensure that their heart keeps beating at a normal rhythm, while this person may not be addicted to a laptop or a mobile phone they are using technology to keep themselves alive. This of course is the lesser extreme in comparison to Stelios Arcadiou, who has grown an ear out of his arm, rather the pace maker is a essential in to a person’s well being. Furthermore, new technology for people who have had limbs amputated and need prosthetic limbs there are cases of newer technology being created such as prosthetic hands that actually move and can pick up items rather than just being attached to the patient’s arm for convince. Can these people too be considered more cyborg than human? Furthermore, the more I think about this the more I have to ask, what is it that makes humans more special? Sure scientists have come up with reasons then only to find that certain animals in the animal kingdom are able to do similar things, being social for example. One of my friends say it is our ability to love for example but from what I can tell my cat isn’t going to get upset that I’ve cuddled with another cat. No. The cat will love me unconditionally regardless of what I do. I suppose that most people play a small part in being a cyborg, however it is the extent to which we allow