becoming better cyborgs
When we say we’re going for a “nature walk” or “getting out to nature”, what do we really mean? The choice of words is kind of absurd. It pitches a duality that doesn’t exist.
What we mean is that we want to “get away from human nature”. Otherwise, we’d be suggesting that nature is somewhere out there, not here. But that can’t be true, because you are as natural as that hiking trail, and so is the fruit fly buzzing around your kitchen.
And what about the kitchen itself? Is that nature? The buildings we live in and the technologies we create, are they nature? If a bird’s nest is nature, how is my house any different?
In meditation, we often see thinking for what it is: a layer of conceptual abstraction we place on the world. In the early stages of practice, the incessant thinking feels like an obstacle to who we are. Eventually we accept our thoughts as natural. Instead of trying to forcefully stop thinking, we get curious about this strange podcast running through our minds.
This same realization can help us step beyond our misconceptions of technology. Our tech is an extension of our minds, so we also see it as separate from nature. Ironic, given that we plunder the natural world to build it.
We’ve created space stations, reshaped the planet, and connected networks of collective consciousness. We need not look any further than Captain Picard’s iPad to know that our fictions become reality. But as complex and extractive as it has become, tech is still as natural as we are. It’s who we’ve been since our ancestors first shaped their environment into tools.
Don’t get me wrong, a smartphone is not the same thing a cave painting, and the big city is obviously quite different from the ocean. Somewhere along the way, our creations started to feel categorically different from the spoon and fork. Now we often feel more ‘used’ than ‘user’. But if our thinking minds are part of nature, then are the things we create natural too?
Just because tech is natural, that doesn’t mean it’s all good. Nature can be selfish and destructive just as it can be cooperative and compassionate. We shouldn’t be surprised when our tech amplifies our flaws as much as our strengths. But they’re our flaws being mirrored back to us, not some inherent problem with technology itself. This is where the issue becomes spiritual.
If we accept that tech is a natural extension of who we are, then the only way to create better technology is to become better people. Intimidating, but hopeful: If we can create tech that helps us become better people, and in turn, those better people can create better tech, well, this is exactly the positive feedback loop that will change everything. We’ll become better at using tech, better at designing it, better at regulating it, and better at studying it.
Accepting your thoughts opens new possibilities for mindfulness and self-understanding. With tech, the pattern is the same. Drop the effort to fight your tech. Accept it as a natural part of who you are. From there, you’re ready to embark on our spiritual quest for the exponential age: becoming better cyborgs.