DISCUSSION - What is a cyborg? đŸ€–

I must admit I thought exactly about you while trying to come up with an “Aesthetic - to - Functional” example. :sweat_smile:

@Pilgrimsmaster definitely has superpowers

Still baffles me every time!

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OK, so I read the rails of the train of replies. Now to the cyborg question. Opinion. What line would I fall on? Prior to having 5 various DT implants (which are used daily) I have a programmable internal pulse generator, IPG, attached to the nerve roots to the spinal cord in 8 places along with a battery operated medication pump that delivers pain meds (Fentanyl) directly into the spinal canal. So at this point my physical control of the majority of the central nervous system is under control of programmable technology


Does this place me into phase 2 of cyborg transformation?

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Depends. Which scale are you referring to? If it’s the one I referrenced, then your rather impressive medical device would be;

Type 2B Internal devices, Medically necessary / corrective. Powered. Ex. Pacemaker. (emphasis on Medically necessary / corrective.)

And your DT implants would be;

Type 3A Internal devices, Augmentation, Unpowered. Ex Rfid Chips.

Making you (highest rating) a type 3A Cyborg.

However, that’s just my BS scale. IF you’re using the Venn Diagram from the beginning of the thread, then you’re in the intersection of M & T, which I guess makes you a MT cyborg?

You could also work out your own scale, and maybe shed some more light onto the question, Just what the heck is a cyborg?

Sorry, but I couldn’t help but realise that if “Science” had been used instead of “Technology”

We would now have M&S Cyborgs. Potentially sold as part of a meal deal! :rofl:

Ok, silly British humour aside

I stand with @ODaily:

I do appreciate scales and diagrams as part of a debate, but ultimately what you are is something that only you should be able to say.

We do have people here who do feel as a cyborg because when they misplace their phones, they suffer from missing limb syndrome. Even without any implants.

And we also do have people who would not Identify as a cyborg even if they replace half their bodies with tech.

Ultimately it’s more about how you feel than any arbitrary system

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This. Whenever I hear someone proclaim to be a cyborg in all seriousness all I can think of is this:

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13 posts were merged into an existing topic: The anti​:no_entry_sign:-derailment​:railway_car: & thread​:thread: hijacking​:gun: thread​:thread: :interrobang:

Agree completely. I wear a watch and now I can sense the exact time by looking at my arm. I have crowns on some of my teeth so my teeth are stronger than bone. Does that make my a cyborg? Maybe, maybe not. All it really means is that I am improving myself using technology that is around me and usable today.

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This whole thing sounds like the Ship of Theseus but instead of asking at what point is it a different boat, it’s at what point are you a cyborg.

Sorta, but in SOT it’s one for one replacement
 we’re talking about upgrades baby! Take down those sails
 install the fission reactor
 etc.

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I just imagine a fission reactor where the sail was and no other modifications. Like nothing to take the power.

Hot.

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A cyborg is a CYBernetically enhanced ORGanism.The key to knowing the cyborg is to realize that it is two systems, one biological (wetware) and one technological (hardware), functioning together via a cybernetic feedback loop to make the entire bodywork.

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But then you get into the rabbit hole regarding devices that are meant to restore function, instead of adding functionality, like pacemakers. And determining if those qualify.

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I think a pacemaker qualifies you as a cyborg.

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That is the most hardcore thing I’ve read on this forum so far.

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Very much so. And by the following token:

RFID implants don’t make you a cyborg. Although the wetware part does adapt to using them to some extent, the implants themselves just sit there and don’t interact with you in any way. As I always say, one wears them like one wears jewelry, nothing more.

While I agree an RFID implant doesn’t conform to the definition above, I don’t agree that they are the same as jewelry
 and that’s because of the psychological factors involved. I believe most people, myself included, feel fundamentally different about having an implant vs wearing jewelry. It feels different because it just is different
 different expectations, different absence of mind when not using them, and different sense of innate capability when using them. Logically it’s not much different from wearing something on your body, but psychologically it is significantly different when “wearing” something in your body.

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I kinda agree to that (because I feel like my bodmods are very much a part of me as well), but this sometimes applies to jewelry, too. For some people, a wedding ring creates a similar feeling, I feel naked when not wearing my collar, others maybe have a necklace from their grandma they never take off.
It might have to do with how “used to” the jewelry you are? Dunno :woman_shrugging:

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It’s definitely easier to identify what a cyborg isn’t, then what it is. My cats microchiped but she isn’t a cyborg cat. (That wound be awesome though). The only jewelry she wears is a collar with her chips UID etched on it. If you can’t take it off is it really jewelry?
Edit- I google image searched for cyborg cat, I wasn’t disappointed.

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