Category: Society & Culture

1. Meet Thad Starner, cyborg.

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While he’s not physically fused with a computer, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) graduate and Georgia Tech professor has worn one for roughly 20 years. And his electronic sidekick is Lizzy, adopted from the first production car’s nickname, the Tin Lizzy.

If his eyewear looks reminiscent of Google Glass, you’re totally right: He was one of its technical leads. Thad firmly believes his extra appendage has deepened his human relationships: It reinforces his memories and holds onto thoughts that would have otherwise slipped away had they not been recorded.

Plus, you feel like a superhuman.

Like the Terminator, Thad’s eyewear is constantly populated with things he can say.

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OK, it’s a little less crass. But after Lizzy went through some makeovers, Thad and another MIT student designed a program for her called the Remembrance Agent.

So as you have a conversation with someone, you take notes. Then Lizzy zips through those archives and brings up relevant stuff at the bottom of your eye screen, like a self-googling catalog of your memories.

2. But not everyone is convinced that being intimately linked with computers is a good idea.

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Some in the tech industry liken electronics to eyeglasses: They’re a simple tool.

But others are wringing their hands about our smartypants metal slabs, which isn’t that unusual in the course of history. Believe it or not, Plato had some beef against writing because it would mean less face-to-face interaction.

So what could go wrong with computers?

4. Social scientists are steadily categorizing how online interactions are different from those offline.

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There’s a lack of social cues like inflection. There’s deindividuation, which is losing self-awareness in a group setting, says Arthur Santana, a professor at the University of Houston who is studying online behavior. Things on-screen can also feel more like a game than real life.

And anonymity, he’s found, can make you nearly twice as likely to be uncivil. (Other research has found that anonymous commenting is not all bad: It can foster ideas in a group setting and isn’t likely to influence opinions on an ethical issue, to name a few pros.) Scientists call that discrepancy between online and offline behavior the online disinhibition effect.

5. Because whether we realize it or not, our pixelated behavior shapes our offline selves.

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We’re more likely to share things that make us angry, researchers found after analyzing 70 million tweets. But venting online can make us more likely to be aggressive later, says Ryan Martin, who specializes in how computers mess with our emotions.

When Peter started seeking things that made him angry, he took step back to cool his brain jets. The N Train Gossip account is still alive, but it’s barely updated. Peter’s Instagram is currently a collage of inanimate objects.

And now, he feels less angry.