Summative Statement: Are you a gadget?
When considering the question, "Are you a gadget?", a scene from the recent live-action The Jungle Book comes to my mind. Mowgli and Baloo meet each other amidst Baloo's unsuccessful attempts to steal honey from a bee hive without being stung. Mowgli then begins to fashion tools out of natural materials to help him, eventually creating a contraption that successfully acquires delicious honey without any angry bee attacks. This causes Baloo to see the worth and usefulness in the man-cub despite his small size, lack of hair, and seemingly weak frame. Mowgli demonstrates in this scene what set humankind apart from our non-human ancestors: the ability to create and utilize tools to accommodate for our evolutionary shortcomings.
Since the beginning of our existence, humankind has climbed the evolutionary ladder with gadgets. We used gadgets to discover fire, to create the wheel, to discover the concept of zero, to invent the first lightbulb, to build the first automobile. Our human society has been built with gadgets created by man to accomplish goals that our bodies alone cannot achieve. This leads me to the question we are considering today: are gadgets a means for humans achieve better for ourselves, or do they become an extension of our physical and intellectual being? Does the fact that we create them and use them to meet our physical, mental, and emotional needs make gadgets a part of ourselves? Does it make a difference whether or not we can live without them?
For a person cooking spaghetti, a strainer is definitely a beneficial tool to have, but it’s not crucial to the success of the spaghetti, and most people would say that their noodle strainer is in no way an extension of their physical existence. For a person in the later stages of cystic fibrosis, their oxygen tank is crucial to daily survival. Does that make it an extension of their physical existence? What about pacemakers that keep the heart beating when it wouldn’t be able to do so naturally? These gadgets are crucial to a person’s survival. Does this make it an extension of their physical existence? Human arms are extensions of the human body that are incredibly beneficial in their ability to reach, grab, hold, and help us maintain balance. Humans can survive without them, though, and they do every day; humans who are born without limbs or lose limbs later in life are often capable of leading normal lives. A limb is, in the literal sense, an extension of ourselves, but we are not dependent on its presence for survival. Do we define what we are by what we are naturally born with, or by what we utilize through our natural inclination towards tools in order to survive?
When considering gadgets like smart phones, tablets, and computers, many believe that they are unneeded or even detrimental to human existence. Some critics say that being "plugged in" makes humans depressed or prevents them for living full and happy lives. This may be true for some. For others, access to the wide world of the web has been crucial to survival. This has been the case for me in my search for mental well-being, self-discovery, access to information, and the formation of valued personal connections. Does this make my gadgets an extension of myself, or simply tools that improve my existence?
Baloo was known throughout the jungle for his ability as a human to create fire. He wasn’t fire, and he wasn’t physically connected to the tools that humans use to create fire. To the animals of the jungle, though, fire was at the core of the definition of humanity. For many, a noodle strainer is irrelevant to their definition of self, but perhaps it is part of a symbol of identity for an artisan spaghetti maker. Perhaps, for a person living with cystic fibrosis, the oxygen tank that they carry with them through their lives becomes a symbol of identity through through physical proximity, dependence, and connection to a condition that has defined their lives. In the show Bates Motel, the character Emma's oxygen tank is intentionally a defining part of her on-screen character. How we define ourselves or allow others to define us decides if we use gadgets, or if we are gadgets.
By this logic, I myself am a gadget. My connection to the internet as a way to learn about myself, express myself, and feed myself has made technology a part of my definition of self. We are more than physical masses of cells. We are intellectual, spiritual, and metaphysical at our core. The knowledge that I am a gadget does not scare me, nor does it shock me. This is what humans do. We learn to get the honey without being stung. We are the red flower.
Baqqi, Steve. “The Jungle Book (2016) Movie Review.” Epsilon Reviews, Squarespace, 30 June 2016, www.epsilonreviews.com/reviews/2016/6/30/the-jungle-book-2016.
“Bates-Motel-Season-1-Episode-7-the-Man-in-Number-9-1.Jpg.” The Bates Motel Wiki, FANDOM TV, batesmotel.wikia.com/wiki/File:Bates-motel-season-1-episode-7-the-man-in-number-9-1.jpg.
“‘The Jungle Book’ Explores Mowgli's Worries and His Strife.” The Economist, The Economist Newspaper Limited, 15 Apr. 2016, www.economist.com/blogs/prospero/2016/04/live-action-remakes.
