Dino M-IDS 301 Blog

Monsters, Robots, & Cyborgs

[dinosaurtheories]

Are Online Grad Ceremonies Uncanny?

With the many different and new circumstances COVID-19 is having on the world one group that is really feeling a sense of unfamiliarity and uncanny is graduating seniors. To help try to address these feelings of uncanniness some schools have resorted to doing “online graduation ceremonies”. An interesting concept that tries to show appreciation for the hard work graduating seniors have completed, as is customary too. Although when trying to exploit a tradition that’s grounded in physical celebration with family, friends, peers, and teachers, and revert it to a completely digital process this can create feelings of repressed unfamiliarity. This has led to many agreeing it’s appreciated the efforts that are being made for seniors, but online ceremonies may just promote more feelings of uncanny instead of creating the opposite effect.

Interested to hear other’s thoughts though, my viewpoint is just of one!

[dinosaurtheories]

Mary Douglas’s ideas in WoW

I think a video game that really conveys similar thinking to Mary Douglas’s beliefs on monstrosity and systems of order is World of Warcraft (WoW). WoW is an MMORPG and has been one of the most famous online games for quite some time now. Within the game there are two main sides to choose from and within those two sides there are multiple factions or races that individuals can choose to play as. Many of these factions that are optional to choose to play as a character would typically be considered monstrous beings-such as ogres, trolls, werewolves, and even literal undead. The thing is none of these beings are viewed as just as monstrous or more monstrous than the next within the societal construct of the game as they all follow the system of order constructed by the side they are allied with. Therefore, many of the creatures view each other as coming from different parts of the world and having very different traits, but since they are all tied to the same system of order all are viewed as equal allies. Something some may argue humans can still struggle with.

[dinosaurtheories]

Genos the Cyborg

I once made a post about one of my favorite fictional “monsters”, so I felt it was fitting to utilize a post to address one of my favorite fictional cyborgs in the character Genos. The character Genos comes from the same fictional universe as Garrou-another posted I created prior regrading a fictional “human monster”. Genos was created from the dying body of his human self after another cyborg had attacked his hometown when he was just a child. A scientist who discovered him as a boy barely alive took Genos’s body and for the most part completely transformed him to all machine. Genos is now a human mind and spirit still fueled with emotions that is the control pilot for one of the most awesome cybernetic systems. Genos himself acts as the controller to this system in which during combat all his body parts, machines, and weaponry all directly communicate with the feedback that Genos sends to it. Going vice versa when Genos sustains damage there is also direct cybernetic feedback and feelings of pain that his components send back to him as the controller. In the clip I provided you can see a great example of him using these systems as components to benefit him in a practice fight, if you take the time to watch the clip (only need to watch about the first two minutes from where it starts).

https://youtu.be/km2OPUctni4?t=23

[dinosaurtheories]

The Division of (Robotic?) Labor

In 1776 an economist and philosopher by the name of Adam Smith wrote one of his most influential works “The Wealth of Nations”. The book just as it title reads sought to explain how wealth was accumulated, utilized, and distributed among powerful nations. Among this research Smith also sought to explain why powerful nations are more successful in accumulating wealth than other nations who may struggle for power, money or both. One of the supportive reasons Smith gave for those who can manufacture and distribute more wealth than others is the division of labors within those nations. Adam Smith argued that in order to generate better use of a workforce tasks need to be sectioned off to be completed by individuals who were considered exceptional or professional talents at one particular function, and only they would complete this one section or part of the job. This would allow those who were skilled in one proficiency to continually adapt and improve that skill while not having to worry about performing other functions they may be sub-par at.

About a half century later a man by the name of Andrew Ure wrote an exposition into robots and robotic systems within the workforce, and society. Ure’s work was entitled “The Philosophy of Manufactures” and within the work he also shared a similar sentiment to a division of labor that Adam Smith had proposed. Ure’s theory paid a focus on the role robotics would come to have, and the impact on the human psychology to try and assimilate this technology to benefit them. In his work Ure eluded that one of the biggest challenges facing this philosophy is the division of labor between the specialized workforce and specialized robotic machinery. As Ure noted: “The main difficulty did not, to my apprehension, lie so much in the invention of a proper self-acting mechanism for clawing out and twisting cotton into a  continuous thread, as in the distribution of the different members of the apparatus into one cooperative body, in impelling each organ with its appropriate delicacy arid speed, and above all, in training human beings to renounce their desultory habits of work, and to identify themselves with the unvarying regularity of the complex automaton. (p.15) Ure recognizes a challenge in some being able to adapt successfully to this division of labor and renounce their old habits of work, a challenge Adam Smith had stated and saw before in his time as well.

An interesting comparison that I wanted to fully explore more in-depth, it’s interesting the ways something as the division of labor can be interpreted throughout time and applied to so many other facets, phenomena’s, and theories. What are your thoughts?

[dinosaurtheories]

Loch Ness Monster

One of the most mysterious and fascinating creatures of my childhood was Nessie, aka the Loch Ness Monster. Obviously, there is a lot of mystery shrouded in this monster, as questions of existence, species, characteristics, and many more have certainly placed this potential being out of any recognized system of order. Even from the time of a child though something about this being not only being out of place within any system of order in society, but also a creature that could possibly be out of time as well absolutely intrigued me. I think as I grew older all the mystery and lack of any real hard evidence throughout the years is what caused my interest in the figure to decrease, but a nice memory to pay back and visit in the spirit of analyzing monsters.

[dinosaurtheories]

Something’s not right here....

[dinosaurtheories]

Electric Vehicle Cybernetic Systems

In the class discussion of cybernetic systems, we discussed how these systems are composed of parts each which performs a particular function that is integrated through communication, control, and feedback. There is also usually a central command or pilot that directs these systems to perform these functions, control what feedback is received, and what is done with that feedback. One example of cybernetic systems that really sticks out to me is all-electric cars. Within the action of operating any vehicle one can be considered partaking in a cybernetic system due to their being a pilot, communication, control, and feedback all being present. Now imagine controlling a cybernetic system within another cybernetic system of electric vehicles that offer autonomous driving. Autonomous driving contains all the characteristics of the same cybernetic system the driver accesses but slightly adjusts changes some of the output, the communication, and of course the receiving pilot. Creating multiple possible different forms of cybernetic systems within the vehicles.

[dinosaurtheories]

Is a Monster Association monstrous?

Within the popular anime series that I had made a post about before “One Punch Man”, I made a brief mention of a “monsters association” within the show that existed to stop the heroes of the show. This posed an interesting question that was asked by @Profmonster, if following Mary Douglas’s notions that “monsters are beings out of place in a system of order”: are monsters that create their own system of order (such as the “monsters association”) still considered monstrous? My initial reaction is to say that yes most would still be considered as monstrous for the repeated transgressions of other’s systems of order. These monsters may see themselves as non-monstrous within their own system of order, but if they continue to transgress other’s systems of orders, I would certainly still consider them monstrous. This is a very interesting question though and I’m curious to hear other’s thoughts and opinions.

[dinosaurtheories]

The Monstrous Joker

One of my personal all time favorite “monsters” in every sense of the meaning is the Joker. More specifically, the Heather Ledger adaptation of the Joker from the 2008 The Dark Knight film directed by Christopher Nolan. To better understand what a monstrous figure in society is, Mary Douglas writes that monsters are “beings out of place” that transgress boundaries in relation to a system of order set in place in which they reside in or are associated with. Within Gotham City, there is a system of order practically ran by organized crime leaders and gangs. Among all these monstrous groups plus the crooked police officers, and even “crime-fighters” that could be viewed as monstrous within Gotham, the Joker for me still stands out as the clear monster detached from any system of order. Throughout this film not only is the Joker the main antagonist due to his repeated and horrific transgressions of civil law, but also for his transgressions in which he causes the other organized crime leaders and gangs’ trouble as well. Joker fits within no system of order on either side of those trying to prevent chaos or cause more chaos, and It is stated all of Joker’s actions are transgressions to further develop his own monstrous tendencies and planning to disrupt all systems of order.

Joker also makes the effort to disrupt to the legal and civil system of order set in place in Gotham by threatening or paying off police officers and judges to secretly work under and for him. Establishing a criminal monstrous figure having forced connections within the very system of order that is supposed to be fighting against and rejecting him as this monster. Which would be another major transgression within the many systems of order he is interrelated with, and a transgression that is not repeated much by many other monsters to this extent.

[dinosaurtheories]

Garou- The Human Monster

In season 2 of the popular anime series “One Punch Man” one of the main antagonist is a man by the name of Garou. In this fictional world there is a “hero association” set in place to fight off monsters, and there is a clear boundary between what is classified as a hero and a monster. Garou classifies himself as a “human monster” for his antics of criminal intent against all heroes in which would typically classify him as a monster, even though he is human. Garou can be considered quite a prominent monstrous figure not only for his devilish acts but as he is also a figure that transgresses the boundary of being a human who acts as a monster, and seeks to harm the heroes who prevent the other monsters in society. Garou seeks to bring an end to the hero association and when word of a “monster association” tries to recruit him he adamantly declines, claiming he is nothing like them. Which also shows that Garou fits no system of order within that society further developing his monstrosity.

[dinosaurtheories]

Why Bender from Futurama is NOT a Robot

Many believe that Bender, one of the main characters from the popular series “Futurama” fits the basic definition and aspects of what a robot is considered. Many quote Bender as a robot, but if following the definition of a robot versus what is described as an “automaton” by Jean Baudrillard in “The Automaton and The Robot”, the conclusion can be made that Bender should be considered an automaton instead. Bender insists on be self-acting throughout the show going about his life the way he sees fit, not following a pre-determined set function. Bender’s more so “free will” to go about his day mostly how he see fits such as a human, and his strives to be "human-like" deem him more characteristically an automaton than a robot, according to Baudrillard’s thinking.