[Synapse elist] cultural conformity and drifting metaphors

[ju90]

W Shawn Gray wrote:

>  if we enhance our
> physical form with technological extensions how are we to utilize
> those same extensions effectively and efficiently so that the required
> extra cognitive load of having such addition is not in the final
> analysis to make the owner less-effective than before the addition of
> the "enhancement".

Good question.
>
> Unlike the discussion in this list to-date in all these books the
> characters celebrate, even reveling in the difference of their
> augmentations. Could the current concern not to stand out in the crowd
> be more a reflection of how far the existing prosthetics fall short of
> the desired design and utility, rather than any desire of those so
> augmented not to stand-out?

I think it is interesting to see that, as the 'Disability Pride'  
movement grows, so there are increasing numbers of disabled people  
who are happy to show off their aids and prosthetics and 'revel in  
their difference'. I am thinking particularly here of the growing  
number of amputees who choose to wear their prosthetic legs without  
cosmetic covers. For instance, the Finnish comic artist Kaisa chooses  
to wear skirts but not to cover the workings of her prosthetic legs,  
and this is increasingly common among children and young people in  
the US too. (Kaisa has written a graphic novel about her decision to  
have her feet and lower legs amputated so that she can walk more  
easily and live without painkillers - www.absolutetruthpress.com/ 
kaisa.) Of course, economics probably also play a part, since the  
'lifelike' silicon covers are extremely expensive, but in this  
example the prosthetics are clearly about enhancing function rather  
than conforming to a 'normal' aesthetic.

It is ironic that wheelchair use, which is also very much about  
enhancing function rather than conforming to the norm, carries such  
stigma when car and bicycle use does not and in general we are such a  
wheel-dependent society - it is viewed as being 'normal' to use  
wheeled transport of all sorts APART from chairs. The possibilities  
offered by augmented wheelchairs are endless - Felicity Shillingford,  
Paul Mcgarry and Garry Robson's 'Go-Go Gadget Wheelchair' exhibit  
(http://www.adornequip.co.uk/felc.htm) imagines a wheelchair  
augmented with everything from a camera and whisky dispenser to a  
rocket launcher and helicopter blades.
Meanwhile existing military technology means that, in theory, both  
chair and augmentations could be controlled by nothing more than eye  
movement. 'Sip-puff' technology already exists, and apart from being  
used to control wheelchairs, has allowed a British sailor to cross  
the English Channel controlling the entire boat in this way.  
Economics of course are relevant again here. For disabled people in  
the UK, with our 80% unemployment rate, there is a huge gap between  
need and cost/ability to pay. The state rarely funds powered  
wheelchairs, so creating a market for augmented wheelchairs would be  
very difficult. However, wheelchairs are already a major liberating  
force, but could be so much more, and I would be particularly  
interested to hear from Lizbeth about her work here.

--
ju90
mail at ju90.co.uk
www.ju90.co.uk
Webmaster/site slave and Multimedia Storyteller
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