On 24 Aug 2008 at 13:47, Mike Palij wrote: > Thanks to Peter for pointing out the Wikipedia entry which > references the following article: > > "Cyborgs and Space," in Astronautics (September 1960), > by Manfred E. Clynes and Nathan S. Kline. > > However, I was wondering if there was an earlier use of > the word cyborg prior to Clynes & Kline.
I find this an interesting question because it raises the issue of how one could use Google (or any search engine) to limit a search to a particular, usually early, time period. I have often wanted to do this (e.g. for the notorious search for the iceberg analogy). I've concluded it doesn't work for Google advanced search. It appears to work for Google advanced book search, but this is a cruel illusion. For example, if you specify searching for "cyborg" between the dates of 1900 and 1960, it apparently tells you that Leo Chall used the term in the journal _Sociology_ in 1952 (very exciting!). But the date turns out to be when the journal began publishing, and the date of the actual item (which is difficult to identify) must have been considerably later. So no joy there. I then tried it for the limited access I have to JSTOR archives. Here a date range works better. For cyborg, I found nothing between 1900 and 1961. In 1962, there is one hit, to Review: Space Medicine Symposium Bryce O. Hartman Science, New Series, Vol. 137, No. 3535 (Sep. 28, 1962), pp. 1045-1046 Hartman says there, "The final section contains papers on hypothermia, hypnosis, and the concept of the cyborg, which is defined as "the extension of homeostatic controls by means of cybernetic techniques". Unfortunately, he does not reference who gave this early definition nor where it appears. Someone should see what the OED gives as the earliest use. Ah, I answer my own question. The Wikipedia entry mentioned by Peter notes farther down the page that a New York Times article actually used the term "cyborg" earlier than the previously cited use by Clynes & Kline in September of 1960. According to the Wikipedia, the NY Times said five months earlier,"A cyborg is essentially a man-machine system in which the control mechanisms of the human portion are modified externally by drugs or regulatory devices so that the being can live in an environment different from the normal one." The given source is the OED, on-line. Stephen ----------------------------------------------------------------- Stephen L. Black, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology, Emeritus Bishop's University e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 2600 College St. Sherbrooke QC J1M 1Z7 Canada Subscribe to discussion list (TIPS) for the teaching of psychology at http://flightline.highline.edu/sfrantz/tips/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
