Grinders: The Cult Of The Man Machine

The Guardian – Shortcuts Blog

Many of us are already cyborgs. If you have a contraceptive coil fitted, or a pacemaker – arguably even if you wear contact lenses or have pierced ears – then you are in a sense part-human and part-machine. For a small but growing global community of “biohackers” or “grinders”, however, there is far more fun waiting to be had.

A common procedure is to implant a strong neodymium magnet beneath the surface of a person’s skin, often in the tip of the ring finger. This causes nearby magnetic fields – and even their strength and shape – to become detectable to the user, thanks to the subtle currents they provoke. For a party trick, they can also pick up metal objects or make other magnets move around.

Calling this a procedure, though, gives rather the wrong impression. Biohacking is not a field of medicine. Instead it is carried out either at home or in piercing shops, cleanly and carefully with a scalpel, but without an anaesthetic (which you need a licence for). If you think this sounds painful, you are correct.

continue at The Guardian:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/shortcuts/2012/aug/19/grinders-cult-of-man-machine

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