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We’re going to start our journey around the Human Machine with our senses.
That’s because it’s the best place to start when you want to find real-life cyborgs. They may not look as fantastical as the cyborgs of science fiction, but their DIY sense hacks—from magnetic sensors to antennae—play with the limits of what the human body is capable of perceiving about the external world.
But why?
I’ll let our writer, Jane C. Hu, explain more:
“When I first started writing this piece, I posted on Facebook asking my friends to connect me with folks they knew who identified as cyborgs. ‘Hahaha,’ wrote one. ‘I wish,’ wrote another. But I was surprised by the number of folks who said yes, and and encouraged me to talk with their cyborg friends. Among them were engineers, artists, journalists—a diverse group of folks.
“Before, I associated the word cyborg with sci-fi tropes; in movies like Terminator or RoboCop, a cyborg is a being who may look human but lacks all humanity. But I found just the opposite in the cyborg community: these are folks who embody humanity through their curiosity about new experiences, their perseverance in finding ways to create them, and their enthusiasm in sharing their passion with others. I’m glad to have had the opportunity to investigate what new senses cyborgs are making for themselves, and what drives them.”
Check it out.
As always, there will be discussion of this and more, including ongoing of last week’s reading club assignments, over on the Facebook group.
Until next time,
Ian
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