Week 10: 1) Do you agree that you are cyborgian in nature?

 A cyborg is a cybernetic organism a hybrid combination of organism and machine; it is a creature of social reality and a creature of fiction (Harraway, 1985). We are considered as cyborgs in nature because we are a hybrid which is made of the combination of machines and also machine. Therefore, I agree that I am partly cyborgian and partly human, the reason for this is because I am heavily dependent upon technologies such as mobile phones I could not go anywhere without my mobile phone as a mean of communication other than that, I am also dependent upon my laptop to do the assignments and reliant upon the internet or wifi. If it is not available and the service of the internet connection is very slow at some point I feel that could not do the assignments so I would search for places where there is internet which is readily available.

According to Lupton and Noble in 1997 “Many people using computers using computers on an everyday basis is reluctant to embrace the idea of “post-human body” to prefer drawing rigid distinctions between humans and also technological artifact. Most denied to humanize personal computers however, most stated that their computers have human qualities such as agency, moods and also emotional reactions especially at times when the computer does not work” (Bell and Kennedy, 2002).

 “If all media is extensions of human functions then we all have always been cyborgs. The only new aspect of cyborgs is the information society that human beings have become aware of their cyborgian nature” (Loon, 2008). As an example, the society and myself is heavily reliant upon the mobile phones, the computers all ranges and types of media (the extensions of human functions). The only new aspects is that we as the information society whereby almost all information is readily available from websites maninly google, bing and all sorts within few seconds we are now aware that we are cyborgian in nature.

According to William Gibson a cyberspace is a “consensual hallucination”. According to Barrie Sherman and Phil Judkins“truly the technology of dreams” this is because in reality a person cannot make it and control things as they want it to be but in the virtual world a person is able to manipulate it as they want and wish it would be therefore it is a technology of dreams (Robins, 2000). A person can even choose to their appearance, their profession and more.

References:

Hunsinger, Jeremy and Krotoski, Aleks (2012): Learning and Research in Virtual Worlds. USA and Canada: Routledge Taylor and Francis Group.

Harraway, Donna (1991) : A Manifesto for cyborgs science, technology, and socialist feminism in the late 20^th century, In Semians, Cyborgs, and Women: The Reintervention of Nature Socialist review. New York: Routledge.

Kennedy , Barbara M. and Bell, David (2002) : The cyber cultures reader. USA and Canada: Routledge,

Loon, Jost (2008) : Media Technology: Critical Perspectives. England: Oxford University Press. Mc Graw Hill House.

Lister, M. et al (2003) : New Media: A Critical Introduction. New York: Routledge.

Robins, K. (2000): Cyberspace and the world we live in. London: Routledge.