A few years ago, I received a letter informing me that I needed to get new, color-coded waste barrels because our township was implementing a new robotic waste collection program. My inner tech geek was excited, although I’m not really sure what I expected. I knew autonomous vehicle technology was not (and still is not) at the point where a driverless truck would just be let loose on the streets to collect trash and recycling. The high-tech scenario was such a vehicle with humans onboard to monitor and be a safety backup. I think the lowest-tech scenario I expected was still one where a robotic arm would use computer vision to decide which barrel to pick up and empty, hence the need for color-coding. In any case, I was mildly disappointed when all it turned out to be was a truck with a mechanical arm, not fundamentally different from the trucks that have been emptying dumpsters for years. The color lids are simply so the human driver knows where to stop the truck.
[Read more…] about Science in Review: Meet the New Boss, v4.8.23 of the Old Boss
cyborg
Science Corner: Yep, I’m a Cyborg
I have absolutely experienced phantom cellphone vibrations, only I didn’t realize that was a legitimate phenomenon. I thought for sure I was feeling something else and just thinking it was my phone because I was distracted or something, which I suppose isn’t all that far removed from the proposed explanation in the article. There’s already a strong argument to be made that our smartphones, GPS devices, and similar omnipresent gadgets qualify many of us as cyborgs, but this kind of phantom sensation pretty much seals the deal in my mind.
This is also a reminder of the gap between our perception and reality. We all operate as if what we sense and then perceive is equivalent to objective reality, and for the sake of sanity that’s probably necessary. It’s also reasonable, given how often they are functionally equivalent. But I like to be reminded of the differences now and again; it’s one reason I like stage magic, for example. I see it as encouragement to engage with reality in community. After all, you can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.
Have you ever experienced phantom cellphone vibrations? What do you think they imply about our relationship to technology? Do you think of yourself as a cyborg? How do you calibrate your perceptions with reality?