Some time ago I was doing a longform series on Exocortex, my cognitive prosthetic system. I left off with some fairly broad and open-ended questions about the implications of such a software system for identity and agency. Before I go on, though, I think I'd better define some terms. Identity is one of those slippery concepts that you think you get until you have to actually talk about it. One possible definition is "the arbitrary boundry one draws between the self and another," or "I am me and you are you." A more technical definition might be "the condition or …

This is a follow-up to the tale of woe that is my last trip to the dentist after a diagnosis of an abscessed molar on the bottom left. I kept the following bits under wraps mostly for the past week or so, save to a small number of people, and then I'll wrap things up with the events of today. To save your stomachs and appetites, the rest of the this post is under the cut. If you read the known side effects of the antibiotic clindamycin carefully you will note the following: Chills, confusion, diarrhea with blood in it …