Cyborg Perspective
IntroductionMan and machine always used to be considered different and separate. Biologists studied living organisms and engineers designed and built mechanical creations. However, this was to change in the 1940s with interdisciplinary studies of control and communication in the context of both biology and engineering. Norbert Wiener coined the term cybernetics in 1948. By providing a common vocabulary for talking about communication systems in biological and mechanical systems the separate disciplines were brought together. The more similarities that were found, the more the barriers between human and machine were removed. Cybernetics therefore lead to the to realisation that people could be united with machines in ways previously unimagined.In 1960 Manfred Clynes and Nathan Kline derived the word cyborg from cybernetic organism as a new way to refer to humans extending their capabilities using technology. The term Cyborg is defined on the Wikipedia website as: "...[A]n organism which is a mixture of organic and mechanical (synthetic) parts. Generally, the aim is to add to or enhance the abilities of an organism by using technology." (Wikipedia, 2006a) By combining user with machine the cyborg idea changes the way we think about technology and our relationship with it. The cyborg concept also offers us many new perspectives and causes us to reconsider what it is to be human. Are we already becoming cyborg? Go on to Discussion Return to Cyborg Overview |