The transformation of cybernetic organisms
Oddly enough, one of the constants about language is it changes. New words and terms are coined and somehow find their way into common usage.
Some of these words are pretty weird and I’ve always been fascinated with their evolution and origins. Some have their basis in science or technology. Others come about as an effort to describe the minutiae of any number of arcane vocations or pursuits, and, as a result, most of the time have little meaning to anyone beyond those who participate in those obscure occupations. Others are simply coined out of thin air and then somehow take on a life of their own and make their way into the language.
In any case, I thought it might be fun today to check out some of these ‘weird’ words.
The first one I’m going to look at comes from science, or perhaps more accurately, science fiction. The word is ‘cyborg,’ which refers to a hybrid of man and machine. Anyone who watches science fiction movies or TV or reads sci-fi is well aware of cyborgs. Some of the more well-known examples include TV’s popular ‘Six Million Dollar Man,’ which is based on the novel ‘Cyborg’ by Martin Caidin, and its spin-off the ‘Bionic Woman.’ Fans of the British series ‘Dr. Who’ have their own version of the cyborg with the Daleks.
Science fiction literature has explored human-machine hybrids for much of its history. The word cyborg was invented in 1960 as a blend of ‘cybernetic’ with ‘organism,’ hence cyborg. The word cybernetic is the adjective from ‘cybernetics,’ the study of the control of and communication with machines, which was itself created in 1947 by Norbert Wiener from the Greek word ‘kubernetes,’ which means ‘a steersman.’
Now, for all you Harry Potter fans out there, I have a real treat. Though most of you know him as the Headmaster of Hogwarts in J.K. Rowling’s books, the word Dumbledore was around well before young Harry came to literary life.
Potter aficionados may find it interesting to know that ‘Dumbledore’ is, in fact, a type of bee. There are actually a trio of similar sounding words for the heavy, large insects that seem to defy gravity with their ability to lift their cumbersome bodies into the air. ‘Bumblebee’ is the most common, and is now pretty much used everywhere, but some others are ‘humblebee,’ once common in Britain, and, of course, ‘dumbledore,’ the rarest of the three. All of these seem designed to imitate the insect’s buzz.
Now, on to one of those words I mentioned that seem to come out of thin air, totally made up for no real reason whatsoever, other than the sheer fun of it.
Ever heard of a ‘jackalope’? Well, if you are a fan of the TV show ‘America’s Funniest Home Videos,’ you are certainly familiar with this creature, which is defined by those in the know as a ‘mythical horned rabbit.’ At the risk of offending those who believe in mythical animals, this guy belongs up there with Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster.
In truth, this little guy has more to do with the tourist trade than biological science. Seems the folks in some of our western states have long enjoyed the fun of trying to convince credulous tourists that this particular critter is real.
Where the term really comes from is open to debate, and even controversy, in a recent report on the death of a man named Douglas Herrick it was stated he was the actual inventor. Seems Herrick and his brothers, who ran a taxidermy shop in Douglas, Wyo., mounted the horns of a pronghorn antelope on the body of a jackrabbit back in the 1930s, and the jackalope was born. Since then thousands more have been made and sold and in 1965 the state of Wyoming trademarked the name, and a new word found its way into the language. Weird indeed.
Charlie Johnson is news editor of the Standard. He can be reached at 473-2191.