I found the reading this week to be very interesting. I have been interested in assistive technology such as prosthetics in the past, but I never considered how it may or may not be necessary. I think Britt offers a alternative solution to her limblessness by consider how we can make the environment more accomodating rather than making herself change to adapt to the environment.
I think that it was really interesting to learn more about the history of prosthetics and how they developed. I thought that it was interesting to learn the limitations of prosthetics and how many people may just wear them for cosmetic reason. I think that I never really considered why a prosthetic may be necessary. I have learned before that people, when becoming disabled, they would find a way to adapt regardless. For example, I’ve heard about a blind man who was able to learn some echolocation. So I don’t know why I though prosthetics may be necessary for people.
I also found that it was interesting how the abled bodied perceived the disability. I think I was surprised to hear that they felt compelled to wear prosthetics because they were expected to. I also think that part of the challenge in doing so was the extent of the technology and the accessibility. I think that I expected these devices to be expensive and inaccessible to everyone, similar to many other products designated for disabled peoples. But, I think that it’s interesting to see how these juxtapose one another in how these devices are both necessary and also not necessary depending on who you ask.
The technology, while still very flawed, has seemed to developed a lot over the years. I think that when I consider technology, high tech, such as prosthetics, I think of them as an outlet for innovation and knowledge. I like the idea of prosthetics because they offer many different opportunities to do research into various fields. But, I would like to consider how we might enhance our environment then with the knowledge we have gained in trying to develop prosthetics.