Ed Finn

Stitching Together Creativity and Responsibility Interpreting Frankenstein Across Disciplines

This article explores Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein as an “object of care” for use in examining the relationship between creativity and responsibility in the sciences and beyond. Through three short sketches from different disciplinary lenses—literature, science and technology studies, and feminist studies—readers get a sense of the different ways scholars might consider Shelley’s text as an object of care. Through an analysis and synthesis of these three sketches, the authors illustrate the value of such an object in thinking about broad cultural issues. The article acts as a kind of boundary object by creating distinct, yet overlapping narratives from an object that is owned by many social worlds. The three sketches reveal Frankenstein as a thoughtful consideration about what it means to care for, or fail to care for, one’s creation, rather than as a cautionary tale about the evils of scientific hubris. Although infrastructures at universities often prevent interdisciplinary dialogue, the article concludes that purposeful boundary objects created around objects of care like Frankenstein can help build bridges and create shared meanings for new interdisciplinary spaces.

Biological HCI: Towards Integrative Interfaces Between People, Computer, and Biological Materials

Biological HCI (Bio-HCI) framework is a design framework that investigate the relationship between human, computer and biological systems by redefining biological materials as design elements. Bio-HCI focuses on three major components: biological materials, intermediate platforms, and interactions with the user. This framework is created through collaboration between biotechnologists, HCI researchers, and speculative design researchers. To examine this framework further, we present four experiments which focus on different aspects of the Bio-HCI framework. The goal of this paper is to 1) layout the framework for Bio-HCI 2) explore the applications of biological - digital interfaces 3) analyze existing technologies and identify opportunities for future research.

Why Frankenstein is a Stigma Among Scientists

As one of the best known science narratives about the consequences of creating life, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (1818) is an enduring tale that people know and understand with an almost instinctive familiarity. It has become a myth reflecting people’s ambivalent feelings about emerging science: they are curious about science, but they are also afraid of what science can do to them. In this essay, we argue that the Frankenstein myth has evolved into a stigma attached to scientists that focalizes the public’s as well as the scientific community’s negative reactions towards certain sciences and scientific practices. This stigma produces ambivalent reactions towards scientific artifacts and it leads to negative connotations because it implies that some sciences are dangerous and harmful. We argue that understanding the Frankenstein stigma can empower scientists by helping them revisit their own biases as well as responding effectively to people’s expectations for, and attitudes towards, scientists and scientific artifacts. Debunking the Frankenstein stigma could also allow scientists to reshape their professional identities so they can better show the public what ethical and moral values guide their research enterprises.

The Enduring Influence of a Dangerous Narrative: How Scientists Can Mitigate the Frankenstein Myth

Reflecting the dangers of irresponsible science and technology, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein quickly became a mythic story that still feels fresh and relevant in the twenty-first century. The unique framework of the Frankenstein myth has permeated the public discourse about science and knowledge, creating various misconceptions around and negative expectations for scientists and for scientific enterprises more generally. Using the Frankenstein myth as an imaginative tool, we interviewed twelve scientists to explore how this science narrative shapes their views and perceptions of science. Our results yielded two main conclusions. First, the Frankenstein myth may help scientists identify popular concerns about their work and offer a framework for constructing a more positive narrative. Second, finding optimistic science narratives may allow scientists to build a better relationship with the public. We argue that by showing the ethical principles and social dimensions of their work, scientists could replace a negative Frankenstein narrative with a more optimistic one.

Nellodee 2.0: A Quantified Self Reading App for Tracking Reading Goals

Many readers nowadays struggle with finishing the books that they set out to read. To find a solution to this issue, we performed a design exercise which resulted in the development of a reading app that uses a quantified self (QS) approach to track reading goals, called Nellodee. This app allows readers to estimate the number of pages they would have to read to reach a daily reading goal and tracks their progress over time enabling them to reflect on their reading performance. In this paper, we present the design and implementation of our system and the results of an early pilot test are discussed.

Exploring Collaborative Storytelling as a Method for Creating Educational Games

Designing educational games that meet both learning and entertainment objectives is a challenging task. Games that begin by developing specific educational goals and are later wrapped in a game or narrative context risk appearing forced, while those that begin with gaming elements to which educational elements are added may appear superficial. In this paper, we describe the methodology and results from a three-day interdisciplinary hackathon for developing game narratives designed to address both needs. We present details regarding the hackathon, the collaborative teams, and an example of the outcomes produced.

We Can Build the Future

Merging storytelling and making, Arizona State Universitys Center for Science and the Imagination is encouraging people to build the future by assembling and reimagining the pieces of the future already surrounding us.