Rebuilt: How Becoming Part Computer Made Me More Human

Author of the book Rebuilt, Michael Chorost, is a cochlear implant recipient whose book, in his words, "[is] about much more than deafness; I was aiming to speak to anyone with an interest in how technology is changing human bodies for good and ill."

The more immediately accessible gem here is his speech to Gallaudet University (I can't find the date but it's been in the last few years) when he admonished Gallaudet to be the leader in redefining not only the deaf culture but the direction the university can go as leaders in hearing technology.


What does he mean? Well, let's assume you're a hearing person reading this blog. Let's also assume there's a construction project going on across the street from your home. If there were any way you could turn off the noise, any kind of technology that would enable you to be deaf to it, would you be interested? Hearing people are always fascinated to hear how Peter, who can't hear a chainsaw roaring next to him, is able to hear and function like his hearing peers. But they are also very interested in his ability to control his hearing. If he doesn't want to hear the vacuum cleaner, or wants everybody in the car to be quiet while he naps on a car trip, he can turn it off. All he has to do is disengage his hearing equipment.


Perhaps there's more to auditory technology in our future than giving hearing to the deaf. In an era of such rapidly progressing technology, our imagination is the limit in what we can do.


His point is that Gallaudet has good reason to stop clinging to the traditional idea of a deaf culture and begin redefining itself as a leader in auditory technology and its impact on society.