Cyborgs

Are we all ludits to one degree or another? Do the majority of people share an inherent fear of technology and technological progress?

This fear of technology has been aparent in many areas of pop culture. It has appeared in science fiction writing and the theme has been heavily played on in movies. Examples like Blade Runner and the Terminator movies immediately sping to mind, as well as more contemporary examples like Minority Report. The idea has certainly been a major area of fascination in Hollywood.

But is this same fear of technology and specifically cyborgs that is put forward in movies and writting mirrored in our daily lives? On one hand we are now so ready to adopt and rely on new technology, how can we then fear it?

It seems like quite a paradox , but I think it still exists. An example of this occured in class. People were almost all uneasy about the idea of a cellphone being embedded in their heads, even if it performed exactly the same functions of a normal cell phone.
What it comes down to is the idea of being in control. Although we rely more on technology than ever before, we still like to tell ourselves we dont. We like the idea that we can just stop, throw our phones and ipods away, smash our laptops, burn our clothes and go live in a cave.

But I dont know if we can. An this is were the fear comes from. It is a very uneasy idea that we are actually in some way controlled by our technology. This is why the concept of cyborgs is so fascinating, an overt , physical manifestation of the control battle between man and machine or man and technology. It blurs the boundaries, that we like to think are so clear.