Return to the Green Room

The epic two year adventure that was A Hundred Cyborgs is now concluded, with just the final block of revisits concluding last week. What a great time to return to the Green Room and have a chat about our adventures together!

It's been over a decade since we last ended up in the Green Room, at the end of the Ethics Campaign that would lead more than five years later to Chaos Ethics. By long standing tradition, I talk about Only a Game as a 'non-fiction role-playing game', and so when we pursue a long-term project it's a 'campaign' (the name given to a continuous string of adventures in a tabletop RPG). #100Cyborgs feels very different from the original two campaigns (Metaphysics and Ethics), not least of all because blogs no longer maintain the regular conversations they used to. Yet on Twitter, if not here, there has been a lot of discussion around various pieces, although certainly less than half of them. Also, the 500 word structure is rather unique, and led to a very different pacing... I learned a lot from working in this form; you can fit much more into 500 words than it first seems!

I would be very grateful, if you enjoyed or were challenged by even one of these one hundred pieces, if you would leave a comment here 'in the Green Room' to let me know. I write because I have to, but it is being read that makes writing worthwhile.

The game begins anew soon.

Comments

[Chris]

Back at my desk, but won't make it to Twitter for a while. You can still leave me a message in the Green Room, though!

[Chris Billows]

Hi Chris,

I'm a late adventurer of your Cyborg expansion module, not being around when you were running your Chaos Ethics adventure.

I thoroughly enjoyed this romp through ethics and technology. It has influenced me to think and verbalize differently how technology impacts on us humans on so many levels, but prominently in the realm of ethics. Technology gives us power and ethics comes after (sadly).

Thank you for inviting us to participate. That act is an example of ethically using technology to cultivate virtue. You worked hard to practice what you preached in your writing.

Looking forward to your next campaign installment and warmest regards,

Chris

[Chris]

Thanks for visiting the Green Room, Chris!
It's been a pleasure having you along for this one... I've very much enjoyed our sharing of ideas and challenging each other's perspectives.

It's been interesting working on a greater number of shorter pieces (rather than fewer longer pieces). I think previous campaigns weighed in around 25,000 words (not including comments) over a few dozen posts of 1500-200, this one was 500x100=50,000 words, so while each piece was much shorter I ended up writing more. The idea was to cover lots of different topics, of course, and only write enough to lay out a few thoughts as seeds for further conversations. I certainly didn't get a hundred of those conversations, but I was very happy every time discussion did kick off (mostly on Twitter, of course).

The next piece I'm working on has a connection to you, actually, since it picks up from what I think might be the first ever post of mine you replied to (over on ihobo). More on this when I get the time to finish drafting it! :)

Many thanks for both your opposition and support!

Chris.

[Mirage]

Hi, Chris!

I must admit that I became interested in the „A Hundred Cyborgs” serial only after it was finished, which was my mistake. I decided to check the last ten parts and was extremely surprised. What a thought! Sometimes surprising, sometimes funny, sometimes a bit satirical, but always allowing to let an average guy, like me, to look at the world from a completely different perspective. Your eye has deeply delved into the structure of contemporary reality and the mechanisms that govern it, which is admirable. Everyone realizes that we live in a world filled with technology, but how many people have drawn attention to the essence of interactions between humans and machines? This is a fact that fascinated me. At the moment I liked the parts „Make-up”, „Libraries” and „Disney Tax” most. I apologize for my short, two-year delay and promise to read the rest in my spare time 😊

Best,
Mirage

[dmf]

joanna zylinska on how not to play
https://flugschriftencom.files.wordpress.com/2020/04/flugschriften-7-joanna-zylinska-perceptions-at-the-end-of-the-world-or-how-not-to-play-videogames.pdf

[Psuke Bariah]

I'm decidedly more a lurker than commenter, but I definitely enjoyed this campaign, coming across plenty of food for thought

[Chris]

Many thanks to all three of you, the 'final' visitors to this instalment of the Green Room! (Although the Green Room will be available via internet time travel indefinitely, of course!).

dmf: thanks for getting me a text link this time - I appreciate it! And it's Joanna Zylinkska, who I have a history with, since endorsing her Bioethics in the Age of New Media was the first time I was ever credited as 'philosopher'. I've downloaded this and will give it a read soon. Thanks again!

Mirage: I try hard when I write philosophy to write it so that anyone who can read a book can connect with it. This isn't easy, and I don't always succeed. But I don't believe in the inherent value of a 'philosophy for philosophers'; we all need to think differently from time to time (even and especially philosophers!). Personally, I feel like #100Cyborgs hit its stride somewhere in the middle, I think it was a bit stiff at the beginning, but it can be fun to dip into.

Psuke Bariah: I value your comment the most, since as a lurker it cost you the most to post it - namely your anonymity. This gift is greatly appreciated.

Thank you all!

Chris.

[RodeoClown]

I'm always reading, but not always on the same schedule you're posting :)

There's definitely been a few thought-provoking chapters in this latest series (and it was a significant series!)

Looking forward to the next one!

[Chris]

Many thanks for your years of support here, Ian! I feel like we're arguing less these days - that might be because we both have less time, or it might be that we're more in accord. :) Either way, I'm grateful and thankful for your involvement in my blogging. It has been a consistent blessing.

Hope you and your family are well!

Chris.