From: Karsten Bänder (Karsten.Baender@ivm.de)
Date: Thu May 20 1999 - 03:47:58 MDT
I don't think you'll need to process the data into the current spectrum.
Don't underestimate the capabilities of your brain - as you said, training
your senses helps a lot, but also, the brain changes and evolves. The more
you stress it, the better it gets. If you replace your natural eye with a
cyberware eye which has enhanced abilities like low-lite and infrared, the
brain will learn to process the new abilities. The same would be true for an
ear. Replace the ear with one of greater functionality and your brain will
learn to use them.
The human brain has already changed signifficantly since the 50s, due to
mass media and the much higher impact of information on the brain. This
resulted in a less crosslinked processing of information, but at better
speed. The main turn occurred between '72 and '75 if I remember it
correctly.
You would not be able to add totally new senses like a radar to your brain -
at least, not in the near future.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-extropians@extropy.com
> [mailto:owner-extropians@extropy.com]On Behalf Of david_musick@juno.com
> Sent: Thursday, May 20, 1999 6:18 AM
> To: extropians@extropy.com; ard323@juno.com
> Subject: Enhanced Senses
>
>
> Billy Brown wrote:
>
> "The simplest case would be something like increasing your range of
> hearing. To do that you essentially have to remove all of the brain
> mechanisms that handle sound processing, and replace them with an
> upgraded version that can handle a
> wider range of frequencies and a larger volume of data. That's a big
> job, but at least its confined to a single system."
>
> To increase your range of hearing, you could easily shift higher
> frequencies down into the audible range with a computerized hearing aid.
> The sounds could be slowed down, if desired, or listened to in slices,
> with enough slices missing to that the sound is in the audible range but
> also at its original speed. One could even broadcast messages in the
> higher frequencies of sound that others could hear, with the right
> "hearing aids".
>
> With vision, the frequencies outside visual range could be shifted
> however one wanted and overlaid on the visual range frequencies, or a
> huge chunk of the EM spectrum could be compressed to fit in the visual
> range. Or any number of other options. As long as you have the equipment
> to detect the frequencies and to display visual information (and some
> kind of computing device), you can do this (the programming would be
> rather simple, I think).
>
> Although (as I have pointed out before) to take full advantage of any
> sensory enhancements, one must learn to process more sensory information
> per second. I have demonstrated (to myself, anyway) that one can do this
> deliberately by learning to focus more intently on the present sensory
> experience. Many others throughout history have confirmed this for
> themselves also. In fact, many martial arts disciplines spend a great
> deal of time on enhancing one's senses.
>
> David_Musick@juno.com
>
> pay deep attention to your senses and your thinking
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