Solitary sweatblots

As the Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor wrote in The Ethics of Authenticity (1992), "an individual life is hard to sustain against the grain." Consider Taylor's words here in light of Albert Borgmann's (1984) notion of the device paradigm, and the idea that the driving force of modern technocultures, including the always/already conflicted yet cyborgian domain of sport, is one governed by efficiency. The device paradigm is related to Taylor's own discussion of instrumental reason, and the practice of using the most efficient means necessary to get from point A to point B. Borgmann, however, sees points of resistance in this end game of efficiency. He calls them focal practices, things we do in life that disrupt the mindless proceedings of technological existence and, often in decidedly inefficient ways, bring some sort of meaning to our lives through connections with others. The treadmill is efficient. My stride constant, my gait controlled, even as I control the speed of the belt upon which I trod. My sweat drips onto the console and leaves a white, salty residue behind. Like a Rorschach test colliding with VO2 max. Rhythmic. Steady. My legs turnover in synch with the machine's output. I am connected to the machine, and we are connected to my Ipod which connects to my ears and ultimately to my brain, which then processes the hard rock music. This leads to my fingers pressing the "faster" button, which leads to my brain imaging myself on the last lap of my best 10k, which leads to more Rorschach tests on the console...A few more beads make their way into the circuitry and then efficiency...is...dead. Malfunction. Device loses. Cyborg thinks he/it wins. No connection left. Alone. Solitary. Unplugged.

Registering Efficiency on the Borg Scale