Are we cyborgs yet?

A cyborg is a cybernetic organism, a hybrid of human and machine. Throughout history, humans have developed technologies that would help them survive. For example, one of the technological breakthroughs going as far back as 8000 B.C. that we use today and could not really function without it was the invention of the wheel. According to most scholars, we can thank the Sumerians for this – an ancient civilization and one of the earliest urban societies in Southern Mesopotamia (corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran).

What we see in this day and age is a human-technology interface that is expanding at an unprecedented pace.  That technology affects us nowadays more than ever before in human history is something that we can easily observe in our lives. We cannot or rather would not like to imagine ourselves without cellphones, "i-this" and "my-that" and lots of other gizmos and gadgets. This phenomenon has gained so much momentum and significance that it lead to the establishment of a new branch of science: cyborg anthropology.

So why did the invention of the wheel, not to mention other technological revolutionary breakthroughs in human history not lead to us becoming more intertwined with machines until now? Well, there are a few factors.  For one thing, while those inventions truly revolutionized human lives and provided a basis for the further development of civilization, they did not become part of us. A pacemaker, insulin pump, a bionic limb does imply being a cyborg. But this phenomenon has a more profound meaning, our entire interaction with technology could qualify as cyborg.  Then there is of course the cultural aspect of our interaction with technology which consequently affects the way in which we interact with other humans. This part of our lives continues to move to a greater and greater extent to the internet. And speaking of breakthroughs and revolutionary inventions – the internet is truly one of the greatest lifestyle, cultural, anthropological, neurological, yes you see it right neurological changing phenomena in human history. Scientific research proves that regular internet usage does change the structure of our brain. We can find and peruse lots of data quickly, but we have difficulties with remembering it. Our attention span gets shorter, we miss deeper, more subtle meaning and knowledge, we skip longer words, we develop difficulties with inductive problem solving, critical thinking, our imagination suffers too. The problem is that when we shut down our computers and get away from the internet, this "computerized" way of our brain's functioning does not go away. It affects how we process information coming from other media, and it also affects how we communicate with each other.

Does this mean that we should treat the virtual world like a devil? Absolutely not, after all, where else would you get a great certified translation so well done at such a reasonable cost, if it wasn't for USCTS being available 24/7 on the internet?

The solution is rather simple: take the best from all worlds or more scientifically speaking try to "develop a complete profile of cognitive media skills" (Patricia Greenfield). In other words, read books, listen to the radio, and engage in conversations with fellow humans, real conversations, not just texting or chatting on the web. This is especially important for children! Let us not impoverish our lives by switching to one medium at the expense of the other. Our lives will be fuller, more meaningful and fun, if we continue exercising our brains.