Natural-Born Cyborgs

“Natural Born Cyborgs is an engaging, fun read that leaves readers at a level where they can go beyond the “gee-whiz” level of analysis.” – P.B. Broderick, Minds and Machines”Andy Clark has given us an exciting yet realistic vision of what lies ahead. If you’ve ever wondered what Cyborgs are really all about, this is where you will find your answers.” –Kevin Warwick, Professor of Cybernetics, University of Reading, and author of I, Cyborg”Highly interesting, provocative and easy to read…. Natural-Born Cyborgs is impressive and entertaining.“–Nature”Clark does an excellent job of explaining the increasing symbiosis between humans and the machines they create.“–Dallas Morning News”Lively and provocative.“–San Diego Union-Tribune”Highly interesting, provocative and easy to read…. Natural-Born Cyborgs is impressive and entertaining, giving the book a potentially wide audience that includes those interested in cognitive science, performance art and the philosophy of mind.“–Nature”In this lively and provocative treatise, Clark declares that we are, in fact, ‘human technology symbionts’ or ‘natural-born cyborgs,’ always seeking ways to enhance our biological mental capacities through technology, an intriguing claim he supports with a brisk history of biotechnology mergers, which currently range from pacemakers to the way a pilot of a commercial airplane is but one component in an elaborate ‘biotechnological problem-solvingmatrix.’“–San Diego Union-Tribune”A book that is at once profound, ground breaking, and delightful reading. Clark, more than anybody, understands how human nature is shaped by the technology and culture through which it finds expression. Bravo!“–Jerome Bruner, University Professor, New York University, and author of Making Stories”This is a marvelous book, one I intend to use and reuse. I want to teach a course using it. I want to tell my friends. The neatest part is that it is both fun and deep, a hard trick to pull off, but Clark managed wonderfully. He combines a broad array of insights and stories into a charming, yet profound, excursion into what it means to be human as more and more we rely upon–and may even be coupled to–our technology. I read it in a day, but I know I willreturn to it often.“–Donald Norman, Professor of Computer Science, Northwestern University, and author of Emotional Design”Andy Clark has given us an exciting yet realistic vision of what lies ahead. If you’ve ever wondered what Cyborgs are really all about, this is where you will find your answers.” –Kevin Warwick, Professor of Cybernetics, University of Reading, and author of I, Cyborg”Clark does an excellent job of explaining the increasing symbiosis between humans and the machines they create.“–Dallas Morning News”Andy Clark’s lucid book is itself one act in the larger Cognitive Drama that it so clearly portrays. We humans are already ‘Cyborgs,’ and have been for thousands of years, blissfully and profitably embedded in a culture-wide family of Powerful Cognitive Mechanisms, one of which is The Widely-Read Book–like this one! Read it, and see yourself as never before.“–Paul M. Churchland, past president of the American Philosophical Association, and author ofThe Engine of Reason, The Seat of the Soul

Andy Clark holds the Ancient Chair of Logic and Metaphysics at Edinburgh University. His books include Being There: Putting Brain, Body, and World Together and Mindware.