AS MAN BECOMES MACHINE!
No, not a link to the mad TRON geezer (arrrgh mein eyes), but instead, my latest purchase from the charity shop: Man Becomes Machine:The Chilling Investigation of Humanity’s Robot Future, by David M. Rorvik.
Originally published in 1973, I’m looking forward to reading it from a blogger’s perspective in 2004. The words on the blurb talk about living forever, evolution, fascination and terror, dreams and nightmares. In a world where the majority of us are very blas’ abt new technology, how would someone from 1973 view “The Medical Cyborg”, biofeedback techniques, telefactors and “total prosthesis”? Upon turning to a random page, I find a mention of the imitation brain, huh, poxy fule, it’s all about the atommick brane these days, idiot. It’s a real culture shock to read that “someday, robots might replace factory workers”, and one can’t resist a giggle at the slightly over-optimistic section dealing with FREDERICK, a computer who can carry on intelligent conversations, as well as play chess and be used as an occasional table when needs must. FREDERICK, by the way, stands for a Family Robot for Entertainment, Discussion, Education, the Retrieval of Information and the Collation of Knowledge.
CRACKING! B-b-b-but what on earth is a telefactor??