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Andrew Snavely
Professor Hamlett
English 101
21 September 2014
The Invisible Life Saver
The world is a complex place where there is billions things going on at once. How can
billions of things happening at once operate? Actually, it takes only one thing to operate the
world and its technology. Made through technology, computers and the world are similar by the
fact that they can perform billions of things all at once. Technology is basically the idea of
making tasks easier and more efficient. The one thing that makes technology possible is human
beings, a biological species that has created technology and has used technology for thousands of
years, but is that considered a biological species? Donna Haraway, a professor of the history of
consciousness at the University of California, Santa Cruz, believes that human beings are
cyborgs based on her theory that humans rely on technology and technology is a part of humans.
You Are Cyborg by Hari Kunzru is a reflection what Donna Haraways ideas are and displays the
perspective of how cyborg theory is shown throughout human existence. People think cyborgs
are a biological machine and yes, they are right in my eyes. I also believe it goes far beyond that.
Humans are considered cyborgs because we rely on technology which manages the worlds
evolution in concepts such as cleaning and transportation.
Cyborgs are the thought of a relationship between humans and technology both
physically and mentally. Technology is not neutral. Were inside of what we make, and its
inside of us (Kunzru). Think of society as parents and a newborn child as technology, at first the
parents created the child and help the child grow develop. Once the child grows over time and

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the parents grow older, the parents will start to depend on the child that has grown to take care of
the parents. The same idea is used in the relationship with humans and technology. The human
mindset is that technology is implanted in their brains. The human species use some sort of
technology in everyday use. Technology is also confused by societys perspective. Technology
isnt always a piece of metal that has electronic capabilities; it is also medicines and chemicals.
The over-the-counter pills that we get at the pharmacy that we need are a piece of technology.
Also, those pills that we put in your mouth, that makes your body a piece of technology. I think
that makes someone a cyborg. The unfortunate part about all this is as we continue to advance in
technology. We will get closer to making to what society perceives as a cyborg, the more
people will say that we finally made a cyborg. Haraway has to feel frustrated by this theory
because she has been saying the theory of cyborgs has been around for 50 years and people want
to pay attention now. Nowadays, we can see a robot on the ground and its cleaning our floor by
itself. That idea was probably not in a lot of peoples minds decades ago.
Cleaning and the idea of cyborgs can compare more than you think. Think of the fact that
we as people using cleaning utilities every day whether you know it or not. We take showers
every day. We brush our teeth every day. We use these technological advances that were not
present centuries ago. Almost everything that we use such soap, showers, and toothbrushes are
technology. The fact that we use technology to function in mine and everyone else lives makes
us cyborgs. Cleaning is one of the biggest things that I rely on. Without it, People would have
external and also internal problems with their body. Externally, I would be dirty. My skin would
have horrible irritation without sun screen or lotion from the suns rays. Internally, my mouth
would be a nightmare. A toothbrush, which seems like a simple gadget but does enormous
effects for my teeth like removing plague or any food stuck between my teeth. Mouthwash

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eliminates any bacterium that is left in my mouth. The lack of hygiene would cause tremendous
pain to my teeth, my teeth would start to fall out, gums would be enflamed, and bacteria would
cause decay. Im not the only one that benefits from technology keeping me clean. Millions of
people depend on keeping himself/herself clean.
The technology in cleaning has evolved tremendously throughout time. Throughout most
of our history, sanitation practices were practically nonexistent. Yet the history of sanitation
dates back at least 7.000 years, to the Babylonians, Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans (Ritzer). The
comparisons from 7,000 years ago to today is truly night and day. The cleaning issues from
thousands of years ago and today are different also. Global warming is a huge issue in todays
world and going into the future. Coal will fuel Americas future, and were committed to
ensuring that future is a cleaner one than ever before. Of course, commitment is more than a
word it requires action. Thats why the U.S. power industry will have invested $145 billion to
deploy clean coal technologies to reduce air emissions by 2016, while at the same time providing
affordable, reliable electricity to meet growing energy needs (Energy Future). The government
has a serious commitment to follow through with keeping the world clean. Air pollution and
global warming are causing destruction to our wildlife and the ice burgs in the North and South
Pole. As time goes on, technology will be a huge reason why we as the people need to find a
solution to global warming. If a solution is not reached in the near future, there will serious
consequences like higher temperatures all over the world and also water levels from the oceans
rising and destroying several coastlines.
Another growing issue that is affecting the world is trash in our oceans and landfills. A
study conducted by National Geographic show the defining moment of ocean debris research,
says Jambeck, was when scientists discovered that ocean debris was no longer an assemblage of

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cloth, wood, and ceramics, but was composed almost entirely of plastic. Most of that is microplastic, meaning it has decayed and broken down into microscopic pieces that float in the water
column. The main cause to all this trash is plastic. People buy billions of plastic bottles at the
store every year. When we are done those bottles, they have to go somewhere. Unfortunately,
they end up in landfills and our oceans. The plastic is not good for the water or the marine life
either and landfills contaminate our soil. Hopefully, in the near future there will be evolutional
way to shrink the amount of trash that is around our planet. Similar to the cleaning advances,
transportation advances is an essential piece of technology for myself and society.
From the creation of the wheel to rocket ships that can reach Pluto. The progress that
humans have made to make transportation more efficient is truly incredible. Think back 200
years ago, there werent any cars around. If you wanted to get around, you had to walk or you
had a wagon that was carried by horse. Based on America on the Move | Transportation History,
in 1800, the only practical way to travel and trade across long distances was along the nations
natural waterways. As a result, settlement clung to the nations coasts and rivers. A few roads
connected major cities, but travel on them was difficult and time consuming. Imagine how long
it would take go 5 to 10 miles? Back then I would think an hour or two. Now imagine how long
it would take today, going the same distance by car, it would take 5 to 10 minutes. The
difference in time is vast and people including me depend on it heavily. If cars were never
invented, I would have a harder time getting to places where I need to be at. Places like work or
school are far enough where it would be inefficient. Without the luxury of the car, life would be
much harder for me to get places and also get so much stuff done.
The world also benefits from transportation. Millions of people use some sort of
transportation such cars, planes, boats, and trains to get to one place to another. The use of

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transportation has help increase productivity which has help produce millions of dollars.
Transportation has taken over our lives. We cannot live without it. The economy that is fragile
would crash fast if everything went slower. Its like there is a central machine that controls little
robots. This is what Donna Haraway was alluding to.
The cyborg theory by Donna Haraway is greatly influenced by everything that involves
human beings and technology. Humans created technology, but humans cannot evolve and grow
without technology. The fact that humans need technology is what Haraway was stating that
humans are cyborgs. I am confident enough to say that I am cyborg, and probably most of
humanity! I could not live without technology. It has helped me be the person that I am today
and the successful one that I am also. There is this saying that I like to refer to, You are as
successful to the knowledge and talent you have gain as much as the connections you have made
with things and people as well. The connection that I have made is technology and I am glad
Im connected with it.

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Works Cited
"America on the Move | Transportation History." America on the Move | Transportation History.
N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2014.
Kunzru, Hari. "You Are Cyborg." N.p., 5 Feb. 1997. Web. 8 Sept. 2014.
"Our Commitment to a Clean Energy Future : Clean Coal Technology | America's Power."
Our
Commitment to a Clean Energy Future: Clean Coal Technology | America's Power
. American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2014.
Parker, Laura. "With Millions of Tons of Plastic in Oceans, More Scientists Studying Impact."
National.
Geographic. National Geographic Society, 13 June 2014. Web. 24 Sept. 2014
Ritzer, George. "Review: A Brief History of Neoliberalism." American Journal of Sociology
113.1 (2007): 286-88. Web.