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All of this comes from thoughts spurred by "Natural- Born Cyborgs"
Clark uses the phrase: Tools for thought and action (p.29 NBC...Natural-Born Cyborgs) Just as computers and phones and cars all help us "file" and "communicate" and "travel" quickly and efficiently, none of which are really questioned at all by Churches or their members, but simply accepted as "tools" that keep us in the flow, this idea of computing aids that help us in communication and thought-scaffolding holds promises for us as a reflective and communicating community. Keeping our thoughts and insights "circulating" is an important KM (KNowledge Management) tool/resource. I like the term "KNowledge Sharing" better, because that's the spirit of the term Knowledge Management , at least in my book. We're not about "containing it" but "exploring it" and "encouraging it".
Natural Born Cyborgs is not trying to say we've always been machine-like, but that we are, as humans, used to the idea that we "scaffold" thought processes in order to improve our effectiveness and efficiency of action. What would we do without our cell phones to contact or be contacted from anywhere and at any time? The thoughts and inpirations that come tous at a moment's notice or spurred/inpired by some event or the observance of an ad, the reading of an article, etc. that makes us want to jot down the insight we want to remember and further explore.
All of this reminds me of some of the explorations of David Weinberger recently around the idea of , and the "location of" the self. He talks about things of this nature from all angles such as in How Matter Matters and Kurzweil on Self, and also Web Bodies. The common thread is trying to get our mind (or whatever; our self) around how consciousness works, what "stuff" it needs to work, etc. Clark in Natural -Born Cyborgs talks about "skin-bags" and "nature's duct-tape" and such, and
Yesterday, I read something in Natural Born Cyborgs that set me thinking about a particular angle to take and explore regarding the adoption of transparent, augmenting technologies in the service of Christian community.
The "scaffold" idea (from Heidegger) is a useful analogy or illuminating thought prop. The scaffold keeps us from extending our bodies too far (to the extent that we "fall off the ladder"). The scaffolding hleps us "keep pace" or "quicken the pace" as we "keep from being overwhelmed" by it.
11:12:07 AM 
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