April 2, 2007 at 16:42Man as an upgrade platform: presentation
At the O'Reilly Emerging Technology conference, journalist Quinn Norton made a curious presentation on the upgrade of the human body - which operations are especially popular in modern medicine. According to the author, the upgrade procedure can be considered as a real hacking, because as a result of “hacking” a person gets access to the undocumented capabilities of his body.
The most common modifications are surgical operations, including cosmetic surgery, as well as taking medications that change the chemical composition of the body. This cannot be called a cure - it is an improvement. In addition, millions of Americans are taking antidepressants that change psychology a lot. This, too, can be seen in a sense as breaking into one’s body on a mental level.
Recently, more exotic methods of modification have appeared. For example, implanting a magnet in a finger, after which small metal objects can be attracted.
A magnet not only attracts objects, but also picks up powerful electromagnetic radiation, for example, from turbines, motors, electrical wires, even hard drives. In some situations, such a “sixth sense” can be very helpful.
In addition to conventional magnets, people begin to implant RFID radio chips for monitoring and identification. Some countries have already adopted a program for implanting such chips into passports, which is the first step in switching to a completely paperless chip + body technology.
“People begin to understand and want to access their own bodies and their own data. Access to bodies is becoming one of human rights and totally geeky pleasure, ”- Quinn Norton ends his presentation. In his opinion, there are only a few decades left before the industry of “medical pleasures” and the introduction of implants become part of popular culture.
via Norton Presentation
The most common modifications are surgical operations, including cosmetic surgery, as well as taking medications that change the chemical composition of the body. This cannot be called a cure - it is an improvement. In addition, millions of Americans are taking antidepressants that change psychology a lot. This, too, can be seen in a sense as breaking into one’s body on a mental level.
Recently, more exotic methods of modification have appeared. For example, implanting a magnet in a finger, after which small metal objects can be attracted.
A magnet not only attracts objects, but also picks up powerful electromagnetic radiation, for example, from turbines, motors, electrical wires, even hard drives. In some situations, such a “sixth sense” can be very helpful.
In addition to conventional magnets, people begin to implant RFID radio chips for monitoring and identification. Some countries have already adopted a program for implanting such chips into passports, which is the first step in switching to a completely paperless chip + body technology.
“People begin to understand and want to access their own bodies and their own data. Access to bodies is becoming one of human rights and totally geeky pleasure, ”- Quinn Norton ends his presentation. In his opinion, there are only a few decades left before the industry of “medical pleasures” and the introduction of implants become part of popular culture.
via Norton Presentation