Machines R Us

D. Shaw's 'Technoculture: The Key Concepts' is an intriguing reading, making us truly analyse what our body is and essentially how technology is rapidly becoming a main "organ" of our bodies. We use technology is every aspect of life. Bernard Stiegler believes, "[T]he human... invents himself in the technical by inventing the tool- by becoming exteriorsed techno-logically' (Stiegler 1998: 141). We are incredibly fascinated how we are human but we need tools to find out this is what Stiegler meant.  In the seventeenth century William Harvey researched the circulatory system. He believed blood was sucked from the veins. Through technological advancement Harvey's beliefs were inaccurate as blood comes from and to the heart. Technology has allowed us to gain a more understanding of how things work examples are, the weather, the sea, space. (Shaw 2008: 81-82)

Essentially through technology advancement it has changed how we look after our bodies.Within the industrial culture the workers body was seen as evident icon. (Shaw 2008: 83) These workers fitness was due to the heavy labor work they endured every day. However, as the industral revolution  passed so did the industrial workers body. Instead there was a rise in new technologies giving people the opportunity to become 'fit' via a machine. (Shaw 2008: 86) There is a great deal of pressure upon society the capitalist consumer to become 'fit'. The media such as magazines pressures us through pictures of celebrities to become the 'ideal' size 0. Even when browsing on the internet we are met with pop up advertisements '10 ways to lose weight'. Shaw has said, "we are... constantly 'plugged in' to the technology...to keep ahead of the game". (Shaw 2008: 86)

Shaw said "bodies are obsolete" (Shaw 2008: 87) meaning the classes and differences of humans from other species has become slim. Technology is the main reason for this. The rise of computers in the late 1980s allowed researchers to have a more in depth to what humans really are. The found through comparative genomics that humans and fruit flies share a set of genes. We truly begin to thing reconsider how we are classed as humans from other species. (Shaw 2008 pg 87-88) Technology has now thrown us into doubt but we must remember, we create these machines. As Shaw said, "we may have 'made these machines but now, in a very real sense, they make us" (Shaw 2008: 88)

Bibliography 

Shaw, D. (2008) Technoculture: The Key Concepts. Oxford Berg Press