In the 1970s science fiction television series The Six Million Dollar Man, the protagonist suffers a severe injury during a test flight and is subsequently restored using bionic implants that give him superhuman abilities. Scientists took the opportunity to improve the human form. Which brings us to the modern version called “Oscar”. Introduced in Modular body, a series of 56 videos narrating the Oscar project, Oscar is described as a 3D printed modular body created by Floris Kaayk. The new creation looks like a slaughtered chicken brought back to life. Kaayk told The Creator’s Project: “I thought: Why would we print an organ that’s exactly the same shape as the one we already have? Why not take this opportunity to improve it?”
Whether such a creation will be an improvement remains to be seen; for now we can’t really judge, since Oscar doesn’t really exist. Kaayk is a Dutch visual artist, not a bioengineer. Oscar is the central figure of an online narrative (read “science fiction stories”) that has already started circulating on YouTube, Facebook and other social networks. And people fall for it.
Apparently quite plausible science fiction. According to the story told via video, Oscar was conceived by scientist Cornelis Vlasman as an upgrade to the traditional human form — you can’t simply remove or rearrange the average human’s limbs, for example.
Kaayk said, “If we can print organs and body parts, why not completely redefine and redesign the human body?” He began to think of the human body as a closed system, since it is relatively difficult to repair and slow to adapt. “An open modular system could become immortal.”
Inquisitive web surfers will discover the complete Modular Body website, which features a complete series of videos. The site has a unique dystopian feel, as if you are scanning images in a simulation a la The lawnmower man. The videos are arranged by an algorithm that uses assigned tags to suggest the next video to watch based on the one before it, so site visitors won’t be overwhelmed by a mass of excerpts like the one shown below.
Shows that examine Oscar’s consciousness, tests that show the transfer of blood between modules, and even a vlog that compares the human body to an Apple device and Oscar to a Lego brick, are just some of the videos produced in this multi-part examination of this scientific direction. And what pseudo-scientific advancement would be complete without a crowdfunding video?
To reiterate, nothing like the Oscars is actually possible yet. “If you start reading further, you will find that this area of research is still in its very early stages,” Kaayk said. “It’s still not possible to print functional, vascularized organs… now that’s science fiction.”
The modular body is an example of multimedia storytelling that surpasses movies and television in its depth and originality. This goes beyond tired tropes involving zombies, aliens or natural disasters. Good for scaring everyone and maybe making people think.
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Categories: GAMING
Source: newstars.edu.vn