Bodyhacking
I try not to repost boing boing material, but sometimes it’s to topical to pass up. Wired contributer Quinn Norton has posted her slides from her talk on Body Hacking. Body Hacking is admittedly just a catchphase that doesn’t really capture the embryonic state of post humanism we live in, but I can’t think of anything better so OK. So what makes body hacking different from piercings and tattoos? Ms. Norton makes the point that body hacking goes beyond the aesthetic and into enhanced functionality.
Already Lasik and ligament replacement surgeries are being used for enhacement in sports, and drugs like Provigil Aderol and Xanex enjoy vivrant trade on the black market. So what is the future of body hacking?
I would guess that surgical enhancements will grow as quickly as creative drug use and biological theraputics like viral gene transfer. I am waiting for somebody to use the Adenoviral treatment for CF on themselves to enhance their breathing capacity. I doubt it would do anything, but I still hope they try.