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Machine-Made Men: in Context
Machine-Made Men: in Context
Book
Machine-made men
The Cybermen are some of Dr Whos most fearsome
adversaries. Intent upon upgrading their victims, they
strip away the fragile human body, implant the brain in a
metallic exoskeleton and over ride the psyche with their
own shared consciousness. Such measures ensure total
adherence to the races assimilative purpose, untroubled by
inconvenient notions of self or conscience. The antagonism
may seem the pulpy staple of genre entertainment, but the
frightening idea behind it is closer to home. After all, how
often have you neglected the emotional needs of friends
and family in order to feed the hive minds of Facebook
and Twitter? Computers, tablets and smartphones are
inevitably here to stay, but are they really capable of it
reprogramming the way we think?
This question is explored by Susan Greeneld in her book
Mind Change, where the noted neuroscientist argues digital
technology is increasingly robbing us of the characteristics
which make us most human. Due to the multiple
contributing factors, Greeneld aptly compares our
changing faculties to climate change. In doing so, Mind
Change becomes a useful umbrella concept, capable
of combining threads from apparent societal trends and
expert professional views, as well as a wide range of direct
and indirect scientic ndings from dierent disciplines.
Such an approach naturally leaves the book open to
criticism as it is backed by little more than anecdotal evidence.
After all, clinically establishing societys descent to Hell in a
wi- enabled handcart would be hard for anyone to prove.
However, as Greeneld herself asserts absence of evidence is
not evidence of absence, and a spate of recent behaviour by
the technically literate makes the existence of Mind Change
hard to contest. As social taboos are increasingly breached,
with covert lming of theatre productions, and clandestine
photos of private funerals posted to Facebook, the author
has evidently tapped into something potent.
Greenelds research indicates social media may be largely
to blame for these behaviours, given its eects on the users
identity and self esteem. Constantly bombarded with images
of wealth and success among their friendship groups, she
highlights an increasing trend towards narcissism, as more
and more people construct a socially desirable self to which
individuals aspire but have not yet been able to achieve. This
narcissism, as Greeneld writes, has repercussions not only for
the individual, but also for their day-to-day interactions, with
large groups of online friends viewed more as a personal
audience than a source of mutually reciprocal exchanges.
Among frequent internet users, these ideas could
undoubtedly leave the author open to ridicule and trolling.
The printed word however aords Greeneld an intimacy
too often lacking online. Here, she has space to explore her
Andrew Bianchi