Difference between revisions of "Extended Nervous System"

From Cyborg Anthropology
Jump to: navigation, search
Line 4: Line 4:
 
The extended nervous system is a term used to describe the extension of perception and sensory feedback outside the physical body. For instance, one's perception changes when entering a vehicle by extending from the edges of the self to the edges of the vehicle. "The car [is thus an] extension of the foot instead of the car as a satellite part of the home: or the tendency for appliances to impose their presence as against the psychological need for 'cosy' or 'friendly' objects".<ref>Paul Elek, Paul. Comments and Excerpts from Urban Structure. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York. 1968. Pg. 127.</ref>
 
The extended nervous system is a term used to describe the extension of perception and sensory feedback outside the physical body. For instance, one's perception changes when entering a vehicle by extending from the edges of the self to the edges of the vehicle. "The car [is thus an] extension of the foot instead of the car as a satellite part of the home: or the tendency for appliances to impose their presence as against the psychological need for 'cosy' or 'friendly' objects".<ref>Paul Elek, Paul. Comments and Excerpts from Urban Structure. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York. 1968. Pg. 127.</ref>
  
The extended nervous system does not just relate to the extension of the physical self, but the extension of the mental self as well. One's nervous system extends to the characters in a well-written book. In a very well-written book, the reader can feel the triumphs and battles of the characters as if they were their own. This mental and physical engagement extends to those who engage in technological interaction as well.  
+
The extended nervous system does not just relate to the extension of the physical self, but the extension of the mental self as well. One's nervous system extends to the characters in fictional works. In very well-written books, the reader can feel the triumphs and battles of the characters as if they were their own. This mental and physical engagement extends to those who engage in technological interaction as well.  
  
 
===Digital Nervous Systems===
 
===Digital Nervous Systems===
Those who run servers do not run machines but a living organism of machine and person, stitched together by source code. One who runs a server and hosts websites has a nervous system that extends to those sites. When the site goes down, there may be a physiological affect. Google Analytics is a sensing network that acts as an extended nervous system detecting clicks on the extension of one's identity or brand. Social networks are emotional circuits that humans use to extend their mental and physical selves over the restraints of geographical distance. The network allows one to map in-person interactions and their physiological effects onto a digital, tele-operative space. Social networks are a natural extension of the social and mental self. In a real world filled with geographic and social distances, it is natural that so many disconnected individuals would so quickly adopt a technology that allows them some semblance of former society, even though it is mediated by technology and a payment plan.
+
Those who run host websites on servers are not running machines. Rather, they are maintaining a symbiotic organism of machine and person, stitched together by source code. Those who maintain web systems have extended nervous systems that encompass those servers. When a website goes down, one's physiology is affected. The heart-rate increases, adrenaline flows into the body, and the server administrator gains the required mindset to rush into triage and reinstate the system.  
 +
 
 +
Social networks are a natural extension of the social and mental self. In a real world filled with geographic and social distances, it is natural that so many disconnected individuals would so quickly adopt a technology that allows them some semblance of former society, even though it is mediated by technology and a payment plan. Analytics platforms are sensing networks that act as extended nervous systems for web properties and devices. They detect clicks on the extension of one's identity or brand.  
  
 
===Related Reading===
 
===Related Reading===

Revision as of 16:05, 29 October 2011

Extended-nervous-system-Maggie-Nichols.jpg

Definition

The extended nervous system is a term used to describe the extension of perception and sensory feedback outside the physical body. For instance, one's perception changes when entering a vehicle by extending from the edges of the self to the edges of the vehicle. "The car [is thus an] extension of the foot instead of the car as a satellite part of the home: or the tendency for appliances to impose their presence as against the psychological need for 'cosy' or 'friendly' objects".[1]

The extended nervous system does not just relate to the extension of the physical self, but the extension of the mental self as well. One's nervous system extends to the characters in fictional works. In very well-written books, the reader can feel the triumphs and battles of the characters as if they were their own. This mental and physical engagement extends to those who engage in technological interaction as well.

Digital Nervous Systems

Those who run host websites on servers are not running machines. Rather, they are maintaining a symbiotic organism of machine and person, stitched together by source code. Those who maintain web systems have extended nervous systems that encompass those servers. When a website goes down, one's physiology is affected. The heart-rate increases, adrenaline flows into the body, and the server administrator gains the required mindset to rush into triage and reinstate the system.

Social networks are a natural extension of the social and mental self. In a real world filled with geographic and social distances, it is natural that so many disconnected individuals would so quickly adopt a technology that allows them some semblance of former society, even though it is mediated by technology and a payment plan. Analytics platforms are sensing networks that act as extended nervous systems for web properties and devices. They detect clicks on the extension of one's identity or brand.

Related Reading

Cyborg Security

References

  1. Paul Elek, Paul. Comments and Excerpts from Urban Structure. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York. 1968. Pg. 127.