Extended mind

Members of generation Y have grown up in a technology paradigm; the development of technologies such as the internet has impacted greatly upon our lives.  This has resulted in reliance upon convergent forms of media such as smart phones, tablets and laptops holding crucial parts of our lives that we would feel “lost” without.  When the concept of “active externalism” was presented in this week’s readings, it resonated deeply with me and the current paradigm I am in; where objects in environment function as a part of the mind. 

This theory, as presented in an essay by Andy Clark and David Chalmers, states that the mind and the environment act as a “coupled system” whereby the mind can extend into the external world.  This means that certain elements of the external environment, such as technologies, contain cognitive memory and therefore a part of our knowledge. 

The concept of active externalism relates on a personal level and after discovering this concept, I have realised that certain technologies have become a part of my cognitive processes.  The smart phone has become ubiquitous in society and entered my life four years ago with the iPhone 3.  At a basic level a phone contains phone numbers and messages; with my smart phone now it contains my photos, emails, calendar, reminders, alarms, social media, maps and my number one go-to guide, Google.  My smart phone is only one example but is a convergent media form, environmental aid and mnemonic technology.  If I lost my phone, in effect, I would be losing a part of my knowledge and my mind.  I have delegated techniques my mind performs and subconsciously extended them into the external world and into technologies; I have coupled my convergent technologies and my mind, my smart phone has part of my cognitive processes embodied in it.

As Bernard Stiegler puts it, the better the vehicle, the less we know how to drive – I am now slightly worried that the smarter the technologies become and develop, the more obsolete human skill and the performance of my mind will become.

Sources used in this blog post:

Stiegler, Bernard (n.d.) ‘Anamnesis and Hypomnesis: Plato as the first thinker of the proletarianisation’ <http://arsindustrialis.org/anamnesis-and-hypomnesis>

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extended_Mind>

Chalmers, David (2009) ‘The Extended Mind Revisited [1/5], at Hong Kong, 2009’, <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8S149IVHhmc>