“Man masters nature, not by force but by understanding,” said British scientist Jacob Bronowski in a lecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1953. “This is why science has succeeded where magic has failed; because it looked for no spell to cast over nature.”
When tragedy strikes, as it did for Jesse Sullivan, a Tennessee man who lost his arms in an electrical accident three years ago, one might be more inclined to look for answers in magic than science because his injuries were so devastating. But at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC), science becomes an art that can transform the lives of the disabled.
Today’s cover story, “I, Cyborg,” grew out of a visit that deputy Magazine editor–and former star science writer himself–Jeff Lyon paid to the RIC. He recruited another star science writer at the Tribune, Ron Kotulak, to this story, about neural engineering and how computer chips implanted in brains can improve human function. It sounds closer to science fiction than reality, and Kotulak is sensitive to the ethical issues raised by these technological advances. “The brain-machine interface raises important questions,” Ron notes. “Are we ready for it? How will it be used, and possibly misused?”
But this story is also an inspiring human drama. “A marvelous thing about the patients,” Ron says, “is that they are just as excited about participating in an experiment that could help other people as they are in being helped themselves.”