Can humans attain new senses?

The ONI, or the Online Network Interface, in the Netflix series Altered Carbon gives its wearer easy access to an abundance of information. The villain, Doc Ock, from Spider-Man 2, has control over tentacular appendages that accidentally fused themselves to his body. In the Jessica Jones universe, Jones’ nemesis, Kilgrave, can manipulate and control anyone. Professor X from the Marvel Universe can do the same, and also read minds.

Evidently, the sci-fi genre in these past few decades has flourished because of the boundless imagination and creativity of writers and animators. However, for better or for worse, some things we see in science fiction once thought to be fantastical and impossible, may not be so far from being a reality today. After all, as Spielberg once said, “Every science fiction movie I have ever seen, anyone that’s worth its weight in celluloid, warns us about things that ultimately come true.”

The world we live in is held inside our skulls.

The Germans have a word for the reality we experience- the umwelt, or ‘the surrounding world’. Every creature on earth has its own umwelt, pieced together by its own senses, and each umwelt is distinct. Just as the human umwelt is characterized by experiencing radiation between 400 nm and 700 nm (visible light), the umwelt of bats is influenced by echolocation and that of migratory birds by magnetoreception.

The world we perceive is a filtered version of the objective reality that exists outside of us. This filtration happens at the level of our senses- photons reach our eyes, air compressions hit our ears and molecules stimulate our noses and tongues. Beyond this, however, all the external stimuli we sense are transformed into electrochemical spikes. These are the only signals that reach the distant brain. This led scientists to wonder- if all that reaches the brain is electrochemical signals, how does the brain tell sound apart from light, and touch apart from smell?

It was hypothesized that the data stream coming in from each sense must have a different structure that the brain comes to interpret as sight, sound, touch, etc. This led to the idea that perhaps humans can be made to have new sensory experiences- senses unlike anything that nature and evolution have allowed us to experience yet- if we manage to overcome the barriers set by our senses. Overcoming these limitations could allow us to tap into the true potential of the brain. So, the question was posed-

If a new type of data stream is fed to the brain directly without being hindered by the senses, can humans develop a whole new sensory perception?

This idea sounds brilliant, albeit far-fetched, but there are, in fact, a range of devices today that allow us to experience things that our ancestors could barely even dream of. Devices have been built that could allow humans to experience magnetic fields, or hear previously unheard frequencies of sound- senses that several animals possess naturally- while others could allow us to experience completely novel senses. Some of these devices may be invasive, with instruments that need to be fitted into your brain, but there are also several non-invasive ones that can be worn on your body.

One of the frontrunners in this field of ‘sensory addition’ is the renowned neuroscientist, David Eagleman, who has been working to stream new data through atypical channels. Eagleman built a sensory augmentation device called the Versatile Extra-Sensory Transducer, abbreviated to VEST. The device, meant to be worn like any ordinary vest, comprises 32 vibrating motors. These motors can take data, and translate them to patterns of vibrations that are felt against the skin. Over time, the brain learns to interpret the patterns and the wearer achieves a new sense. The VEST can be used for sensory substitution- a deaf person could use it to ‘hear’ sounds through new channels- and also sensory addition, where the wearer could sense the stock market or their Twitter feed. Eagleman’s company has also made a compact version of this technology that can be worn, easily and discreetly, around the wrist.

Humanity has succeeded before in going beyond our subjective reality through indirect means. The radio can detect radio waves. Night vision goggles are easily available. Medical equipment allows us to monitor our internal states, such as our heart rate and our blood sugar levels. Yet, this information still comes to us through existing channels of sight, sound, etc. Sensory addition strives to change that. Irrespective of what data is being fed to the brain through devices like the VEST, the wearer grows to understand it. Eagleman believes that the senses that humans have evolved are not truly equipped to handle the large number of informational stimuli that are thrown at us in this technology-dominated world. By providing novel data directly to our brains, we could come to interact more seamlessly and effortlessly with our surroundings.

Modern technology, together with a deeper understanding of the brain, may soon help humans perform incredible feats. We could sense the economic movement on the planet, or sense the condition of our vehicles or homes. We could come to read the thoughts and feelings of others, and even alter their physical and emotional states. Technology like this could unlock the human potential in unfathomable ways and soon, humans may break past the sensory prison that evolution has bound us in.

Soon, we could truly experience what lies beyond our umwelt.

References:

Eagleman, D. (2021, April 20). In 2019, we will leverage technology to create new senses. Retrieved May 03, 2021, from https://www.wired.co.uk/article/david-eagleman-brain-data-streams#:~:text=But%20next%20year%2C%20we%20will,data%20streams%20into%20the%20brain.&text=The%20second%20is%20to%20get,of%20vibration%20on%20the%20skin.

Hutson, M. (2017, June 20). Beyond the five senses. Retrieved May 03, 2021, from https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/07/beyond-the-five-senses/528699/

Keller, K. (2018, April 20). Could this futuristic vest give us a sixth sense? Retrieved May 03, 2021, from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/could-this-futuristic-vest-give-us-sixth-sense-180968852/

Sensory substitution. (2021, April 29). Retrieved May 03, 2021, from https://eagleman.com/science/sensory-substitution/