fluid identities
Been reading a lot lately about incorporating technology into our persons. And no longer just in niche blogs or hard-to-reach places of the internet, although it's still definitely there as well. But also on NPR, and the New York Times. It's becoming more difficult to ignore. People are starting to pay attention to this Change.
Some things that have caught my eye, which have been closer to the mainstream:
Eye-Borg
Man lost eye. Man wants to replace eye with wireless camera. The technology exists, it's just a point of hacking it to suit him. From an article in my po-dunk hometown newspaper, "The closer I get to putting this camera eye in, the more freaked out people are about me," adding people aren't sure they want to hang around someone who might be filming them at any time. Which brings me to this discussion on WhiteChapel about surveillance, and the difference between monitoring each other and "The Man" (aka Little Brother) and being monitored (aka Big Brother).
We've also got this amazing TED talk by Aimee Mullins, about how her prosthetic legs give her superpowers. Something that used to be a disability by default is now a potential for advancing, for becoming more. She has legs that don't even look like legs, per se.
Which reminds me that another H discussion group is happening on the 27th on Cheating: why we think advancement is unfair, why we constrain ourselves and others socially from doing it, etc. The audio and links from past discussions are, as always, at st.imul.us, and you can now subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.
On related notes: Genderfork has even talked a bit about customizing your Self:
"We are approaching a time when we can customize ourselves to suit who we want to be, who we need to be, and who we know we really are. When the software can be rewritten, the hardware can be upgraded, and we can live any and all of our dreams. And that is a wonderful thing."
All of which I'd like to tie together with a quote from this article: "...there are implicit pitfalls in this rapidly growing virtual arena, particularly for those for whom social skills have not caught up with, say, their computational skills"
Discuss. I'll respond with more thought in the comments, but back to work with me for now.
Some things that have caught my eye, which have been closer to the mainstream:
Eye-Borg
Man lost eye. Man wants to replace eye with wireless camera. The technology exists, it's just a point of hacking it to suit him. From an article in my po-dunk hometown newspaper, "The closer I get to putting this camera eye in, the more freaked out people are about me," adding people aren't sure they want to hang around someone who might be filming them at any time. Which brings me to this discussion on WhiteChapel about surveillance, and the difference between monitoring each other and "The Man" (aka Little Brother) and being monitored (aka Big Brother).
We've also got this amazing TED talk by Aimee Mullins, about how her prosthetic legs give her superpowers. Something that used to be a disability by default is now a potential for advancing, for becoming more. She has legs that don't even look like legs, per se.
Which reminds me that another H discussion group is happening on the 27th on Cheating: why we think advancement is unfair, why we constrain ourselves and others socially from doing it, etc. The audio and links from past discussions are, as always, at st.imul.us, and you can now subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.
On related notes: Genderfork has even talked a bit about customizing your Self:
"We are approaching a time when we can customize ourselves to suit who we want to be, who we need to be, and who we know we really are. When the software can be rewritten, the hardware can be upgraded, and we can live any and all of our dreams. And that is a wonderful thing."
All of which I'd like to tie together with a quote from this article: "...there are implicit pitfalls in this rapidly growing virtual arena, particularly for those for whom social skills have not caught up with, say, their computational skills"
Discuss. I'll respond with more thought in the comments, but back to work with me for now.