Research project about biohacking

edited June 2016 in Community
I have been interested in biohacking for a while, so I chose it as a topic for my English class research essay. I will be writing about it's development over time, and how biohacking affects people (both physically through the projects and grinds, and mentally from the culture and ideas). If anyone wants to write about their personal experiences, anything will help. Thank you.

Comments

  • edited June 2016
    Do your homework yourself.  that's why it's called a "research paper" ;)
  • @ightden, Easy there killer, I'm pretty sure he was asking for our opinions and experiences kind of like an interview... Not a term paper. 

    @kazikhopper I don't have any implants just yet or I would love to give you my input.  There are plenty of people on these forums I'm sure that would love to contribute.  Best of luck!
  • For me I found people to be more confused regarding mine then anything else. Even the ones I would have figured would start throwing holy water on me took it very "normally".

    My parents like to use it as a joke to mess with me and my mother almost talks about it like she's bragging. My father joked I would take my dogs chip when he died and said "do you want to stick that in you?" Which actually I thought about ;)

    On me it has opened me up to thinking of was I can use technology more physically and more efficiently. I now look at things around me and think "could I use that for a future project?".

    This has re kindled my love for electronics and gotten me back into my oldest hobby. I focus on primarily RFID projects which is where my love for it is. I'm particularly interested in automation for home and personal travel so my car too.

    I started at this while reading/watching Kevin Warwick talk about his RFID and nerve implants. That put me into my high school electronics tech and started me to this. It has been 11 years since my first electronics tech class in high school.

    I currently have one RFID in my right hand one the meaty outside edge. (Make a fist and where your pinky pokes you hand is roughly where it is.) I am hoping to have some firefly implanted in the left outside bicep in a line and I will put an NFC some place in my left hand (haven't decided yet where). I'm also toying with a magnet in the same location as my RFID only on the opposite hand.

    Ok I think I covered what you need.good luck with your paper and don't forget to cite ;)

    I'm gonna have my name in a paper maybe ;) cool
  • @Meanderpaul thanks so much for your input! can I just use the name Meanderpaul in the essay?
  • Hey, @kazikhopper.  I'll share my experiences.

    For me, doing my first implants brought me a genuine sense of accomplishment.  It brought back the self confidence that some pretty rough life experiences had beat out of me.  Each one that I do builds on that.  A day that I implant is NEVER a bad day :).  It can, at times, make me feel perhaps a little too "superior", but then again, everyone should feel that way sometimes.  No one should go through life feeling "lesser" than others.  Which brings me to my second point...

    Having implants also made me better able to accept, and even genuinely appreciate, people with different outlooks and orientations than my own.  I guess that by making myself "different", I began to feel kinship with people that were also "different".  In many ways, I feel the most in tune with the people who, in the past, I'd have felt the most alienated from.  In short, it made me a better person, able to appreciate the full spectrum of humanity.

    Interest in augmentation also has allowed me to come into contact, at least virtually, with some very fine individuals.  People who are pushing boundaries and exploring new limits.  People who are insightful and thoughtful.  People of words AND action.  I have been enriched beyond measure by that.  I feel genuinely privileged to be involved with such outstanding individuals.

    On the physical nature of the grinds, my experiences are slightly out of sync, I suppose, with those of many (most?) grinders.  My personal choice to not use anesthetics has certainly put a different twist on what a given implant will entail.  Any implant I do is a commitment to experience, at the very least, some genuine pain, and in a few cases, well, horrific pain.  I will never like pain, but it has become a part of the process for me and I don't think I'd appreciate nearly so much any implant that wasn't earned through some physical pain.  I do not in any way feel like my way is better than someone using anesthetic (honestly, it is probably just stupid to implant without anesthetic), but it's just my way.  It originated with some anxiety regarding needles (that's something that implanting has completely obliterated...  I will never fear a doctor's injection again).  Listening to Lepht Anonym's "Cybernetics for the Masses" talk contributed to my desire to not use anesthetic.  From then on, it just became what I do.  I almost used anesthetic for the NFC light implantation (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NAOn7ZLJR4) but decided not to in the end.

    For reference, I've currently got 10 implants.  I have an m31 in my left pinkie, left middle finger, and left index finger (the one in my ring finger failed after six months or there abouts but will be replaced before year's end).  I have an NTAG216 glass tag in my left hand and another in my left forearm.  I have an ATA5577 glass tag in my left hand.  I have a bio-thermo "lifechip" in my left forearm and another in my left side just below my armpit.  I have the NFC light in my right forearm.  And I have a firefly in the back of my left hand.  In two days (assuming it arrives by then), I will add a flat NTAG216 in the back of my right hand as my 11th implant.  And there's a small chance I'll place a cylinder magnet in the side of my left hand on the same day (though I may not do that quite yet).
  • You can do my name or screen name.

    Paul j Reed II

    I was actually kidding about the name in a paper. It doesn't bother me although I do believe your supposed to cite us anyway but anywho hopefully some more people can chime in and give some info to you also.
  • For me, it started when I was a kid and dreamed of being a cyborg and having superpowers. I've always been a huge scifi fan, which probably fueled those fantasies, along with frustration at being born (what felt to me) too early. I kept up with a lot of news and research on prosthetic and medical implant development after high school due to my interest. I was jealous of our cats getting microchipped because I liked the idea of a semi-permanent ID card of sorts, but couldn't convince the vet to implant one in me.

    Much later, I got into working with Raspberry Pi and Arduino and tried to figure out how to utilize those in my cyborg dreams. I'm not that good at prototyping, so I mostly follow what others are doing in various forums. When I read about Amal implanting himself with an RFID chip, I immediately knew I needed to find a way to get one. It took a lot longer than I wanted, but I finally got it earlier this year. I hadn't thought much about RFID or NFC until last year when I looked into turning my car into a keyless entry. I'm now having tons of fun trying different things out.

    I want more implants, but taking it slow for now as I learn more about the DIY aspect of it. Though most implants I want are functional, I'm totally into the firefly tattoo implant just for the same reasons I have several large tattoos. That and my love of radioactive minerals, as that was my focus when I was in college for geology. It's two of my favorite things combined, so I definitely need one.

    My husband is supportive and encourages me, my sister-in-law and friends think it's interesting, my brother rolls his eyes, my mom thinks I'm being stupid, and I don't talk about it to my dad since he doesn't get technology newer than 1977.
  • my story: im completely new to this whole experience. but i do have a paralyene coated magnet implanted. 
    I've always believed that as humans, we should always be looking for ways to  improve ourselves. Our brains become wired and set into place as we enter into adulthood, having a magnet i believe is one of the most complex biohacks to have. Even though the tech is relatively simply, its what changes your body the most. a magnet forces your brain to re-wire itself learning that the small bulge in your finger is a part of your body and not just something your wearing, also a magnet lets you take something thats not YOU, not organic, and turn it into a functioning componet in the body. your brain can detect sensory input from it not only forces your brain to re-wire itself, but it also give you a new way to experience and think about the world around you which gives a biohacker a different perspective on reality that a regular person couldn't comprehend.

    also its just exciting to feel like I have a special ability, is it useful? not really, but i like knowing that i a few other like minded people can perceive things just a bit differently 
  • I'd be happy to contribute if you're still looking for info! I've had an nfc implant for a few months now and I'm always glad to share the story and my experiences. It might be easier to email me, so feel free to send me a message at [email protected] if interested!
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