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The term cyborg, a portmanteau of cybernetic organism, is used to designate an organism which is a mixture of organic and mechanical parts. Generally, the aim is to add to or enhance the abilities of an organism by using technology.

Contents [hide] 1 Overview 2 Examples 2.1 Real life 2.2 Fictional 3 See also 4 References 5 External links

Overview

The concept of a man-machine mixture was widespread in science fiction before World War II. Edmond Hamilton featured the talking, living brain of an old scientist, Simon Wright, floating around in a transparent case, in all the adventures of his famous hero, Captain Future. In the short story "No Woman Born" in 1944, C. L. Moore wrote of Deirdre, a dancer, whose body was burned completely and whose brain was placed in a faceless but beautiful and supple mechanical body.

The term was created by Manfred E. Clynes and Nathan S. Kline in 1960 to refer to their conception of an enhanced human being who could survive in extraterrestrial environments. Their concept was the outcome of thinking about the need for an intimate relationship between human and machine as the new frontier of space exploration was beginning to take place. A designer of physiological instrumentation and electronic data-processing systems, Clynes was the chief research scientist in the Dynamic Simulation Laboratory at Rockland State Hospital in New York.

According to some definitions of the term, the metaphysical and physical attachments humanity has with even the most basic technologies have already made us cyborgs. In a typical example, a human fitted with a heart pacemaker might be considered a cyborg, since s/he is incapable of surviving without the mechanical part. As a more extreme example, clothing can be seen as a cybernetic modification of skin; enabling us to survive in drastically different environments by constructing things that aren't naturally existing in those environments. A notepad can be seen as rudimentary memory augmentation. The boundary blurs even more when controlled fire or agriculture are thought of as modifications to our digestion processes. Most definitions only consider technologies made possible by the industrial revolution, especially those that are inside the body.

In the feminist thinking of Donna Haraway the cyborg becomes a starting metaphor for exploring ways of breaking down the nature/culture binary. She demonstrates how the desire to separate these two aspects of the world is becoming increasingly difficult and attempts to utilise this confusion of borders in order to create new ways of acting politically. This line of thought is known as cyborg theory.

The term fyborg (a portmanteau of "functional" and "cyborg") was coined by Alexander Chislenko to differentiate between the cyborgs of science fiction and the everyday ways humans extend themselves using technologies such as contact lenses, hearing aids, and mobile phones.

James Litten coined the term cyborgation to describe the action or process of becoming a cyborg.

A 1972 science fiction novel by Martin Caidin titled Cyborg told the story of a man whose damaged body parts are replaced by mechanical devices. This novel was later adapted into a TV series, The Six Million Dollar Man, in 1973.

A book titled Cyborg: Digital destiny and human possibility in the age of the wearable computer was published by Doubleday in 2001. Some of the ideas in the book were incorporated into the 35mm motion picture film Cyberman.

Isaac Asimov's short story "The Bicentennial Man" explored cybernetic concepts. The central character is a robot who begins to modify himself with organic components. His explorations lead to breakthroughs in human medicine via artificial organs and prosthetics. By the end of the story, there is little physical difference between the bodies of robots and humans.

Today, the C-LEG system is used to replace human legs that fell off. The use of sensors in the artificial leg helps walking significantly. This is the first real step into the cyborg way.

The word "cyborg" is almost always used to refer to a man or woman with robotic appendeges. More broadly, the term "cybernetic organism" is used to describe cities as well. The word is also used to describe human-technology mixtures in the abstract- this can include things that we don't normally consider to be technology- pen and paper, for example, or even speech, language. Augmented with these technologies, and connected in communication with people in other times and places, a person becomes much more than what they were before. The explanation includes highways, pipes, electrical wiring, buildings, electrical plants, libraries, and other infrastructure that we hardly notice, but which are critical parts of the cybernetics that we work within.

Examples

Real life

• Steve Mann
• Ratbot
• Kevin Warwick

Fictional

• Steve Austin, The Six Million Dollar Man
• Jamie Sommers, The Bionic Woman
• Xenoborg, Aliens vs. Predator
• The Borg, Star Trek
• Cyberman, Doctor Who
• Cyborg, DC comics
• Digit and Hacker in the math mystery cartoon Cyberchase
• Darth Vader, Star Wars
• Darth Malak, Star Wars
• Alan Gabriel, Big O
• General Grievous, Star Wars
• Habermen,Scanners, Instrumentality & Rediscovery of Man Short Stories by Cordwainer Smith
• Kree Supreme Intelligence, Marvel comics
• Motoko Kusanagi, among others, Ghost in the Shell anime
• Lobot, Star Wars
• Master Chief, Halo videogame series
• Metabarons, comics
• Cyborg Molotov, Empire Earth computer game
• Robocop, movie
• The Terminator, movie
• Molly Ryan, Empire Earth
• Admiral Screed, Star Wars Droids (cartoon)
• Grand Moff Trachta, Star Wars
• Ziggurat 8, Xenosaga videogames
• Angus Thermopyle, The Gap Cycle
• Mechanikat, Krypto the Superdog
• Joe Shimamura, Cyborg 009
• Antoine, Suspected Cyborg Upright Citizens Brigade
• The Hacker and the Soldier, System Shock and System Shock 2 computer games.
• JC Denton, among others, Deus Ex computer game
• The Strogg, Quake II and Quake 4 computer games
• Cyborgs, Cyberchase cartoon

See also

• Android
• Cybernetics
• Cyberware
• Cyborgs in fiction
• Exocortex
• Fyborg
• Gynoid
• Monster
• Robot
• Transhumanism
• Waldo

References

• Manfred E. Clynes, and Nathan S. Kline, (1960) "Cyborgs and Space," Astronautics, September, pp. 26-27 and 74-75; reprinted in Gray, Mentor, and Figueroa-Sarriera, eds., The Cyborg Handbook, New York: Routledge, 1995, pp. 29-34. (hardback: ISBN 0415908485; paperback: ISBN 0415908493)
• Cyborg: Digital destiny and human possibility in the age of the wearable computer, (2001), Steve Mann with Hal Niedzviecki, ISBN 0385658257 (A paperback version also exists, ISBN 0385658265)