While I find it surprising that the OHM thesis, the idea that “technologies of representation, communication, and mediation […] begin to alter fundamentally the cultural epistemologies and discursive practices,” is still controversial amongst people in the humanities, research continues to demonstrate that technologies are altering us at the individual as well as social-cultural level. From Wired‘s “Your Computer Really Is a Part of You“:
An empirical test of ideas proposed by Martin Heidegger shows the great German philosopher to be correct: Everyday tools really do become part of ourselves.
If it needs to be said, McLuhan defined media as extensions of psychic and physical human faculties, and, of course, Ong often talked of the “interiorization” of technologies and media, to say nothing of my favorite Ong quote: “There is nothing more natural to humans than the artificial.”
Here’s the thing—one of my touchstone tropes: language is a technology. And not just a technology but a technology integral to our conception of what it means to be human.
You’re a cyborg. Get over it.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to indulge in one of my favorite technologies: the printed book.
