The Miracle Drug

As long as I could remember, I always used Advil to relieve pain from my body. I always remember going to the medicine cabinet and reaching for the Advil bottle when I had a headache, muscle pain, toothache, etc. In retrospect, Advil and ibuprofen has been very important in my life. As a child, I could remember coming home in pain from straining my ankle I suffered at football practice and my Mother would give me two Advil tablets and a glass of water to help swallow the tablets. The next day my ankle felt better and ever since that day I have always referred to Advil as the miracle drug. My ankle healing by the next day could be an example of Cyborg Identity. Advil is a medicine that heals and repairs my body from pain. In addition, referring to chapter ten, Advil agencies communicate to the public that it is representing a form of human medical improvement. I become dependent on Advil whenever I’m in pain. For example, page 118 in the textbook mention that technology has actors and one example of an actor is when people become dependent on technology for a specific function. Whenever I have a headache or toothache, I become dependent on Advil to relieve the pain. Chapter ten also talk in-depth about the Actor-Network Theory to better explain what technological agency is. Actor-Network Theory provides models of actors, translation, delegation, and prescription. Advil used in the term of delegation that means representing something or someone on its behalf. The textbook explain that delegation is when technology does something we wish we can do or no longer have to do anymore. With the invention of Advil and ibuprofen, I no longer have to find other forms of reducing pain from my body. Just like with technology and space, Advil made it were I no longer have to miss work because of a mild headache and not earn money for that day or go to the dentist for a toothache. For me Advil is more reliable and convenient than spending money going to doctor or lying in bed hoping the pain goes away. Prescription is defined as behaviors, attitudes, and values. On page 120 in the textbook, it explains that since the invention of the bread maker, we are expected to produce fresh bread. As related to my personal experience, many jobs expected me to come to work no matter what the degree of pain. Telling your employer that you are not coming into work because of a headache or toothache is no longer a good excuse. Most companies I have worked for carry Advil or ibuprofen in the first aid kit. Two years ago I was dealing with a very painful toothache on a top right that I had a root canal on three years previously. When I called my job to inform that I will not be coming to work because of the toothache, the supervisor told me if I can try to deal with the pain and to just keep taking the Advil’s out of the first aid kit throughout the entire time I’m at work. When I made it to work, many co-workers and managers express the feeling that a toothache is no longer a serious reason to miss work. Even in college, a toothache, headache, or other body pains is not a good excuse for an excusable absence for many professors unless I have a doctor note. The supervisor, co-workers, and professors showed an attitude that with the progress of modern medicine; only a serious illness could be the only excuse of absence. This is an example of people attitude and behavior towards mild body pain with products such as Advil now being available. The conversation with the supervisor is also an example of actors being a mediator. Advil was the mediator between me and the supervisor. When the supervisor asked me if I could take Advil’s while I’m at work, became example of the supervisor using Advil as the mediator to get me to come to work. Having a toothache would have been an acceptable excuse for not coming in to work, if it was not for invention of ibuprofen. Ibuprofen is a more reliable way to keep people from having a high absent rate. The textbook mention that Actor-Network Theory explain that technology make people respond in a certain way. From what I experience, people respond to others with mild body pain as not being a great concern. As mention at the end of chapter ten, technology change the everyday encounters we have with people. People was not compassionate that I was in pain because of a toothache. The people I thought would be more compassionate turn out to not be. We have this attitude now, because ibuprofen is something that is now looking at as universally available. Advil is a stronger and reliable network for relieving pain than going to the doctor and spending more money or using a home remedy that might less reliable than taking a simple Advil tablet. In conclusion, the companies I worked for depends on medicine such as Advil, as an actor agency to keep their workers from being absent.

Daryl Slack, Jennifer and Macgregor Wise, J. Culture and Technology. New York, NY: Peter Land, 2005. Print.