Fun fact: we already have more than five senses. Besides touch, taste, sight, sound and smell, we have a sense of pain (nociception), a sense of balance (equilibrioception) and a sense of body positioning (proprioception).
But could we develop even more? Evolution moves at such a slow pace that it might be millions of years before we develop a new sensory organ, assuming there’s sufficient need for us to have it. Technology could provide us with extra senses much faster than evolution, though, and how artificial enhancements could be added to our bodies to achieve that is a popular trope of science fiction.
But, similarly, we’re already using tech to augment our senses. Microscopes allow us to see very small objects, while telescopes make very distant ones visible. Then there are X-rays, positron emission tomography (PET) scans and other medical imaging techniques that enable us to see into our bodies.
As the capabilities of virtual- and augmented-reality headsets improve, it might be possible to incorporate this sort of tech into wearable devices, making it more like an extension of ourselves. But could it ever become part of us? Potentially, and again, precedents for this already exist.
Developed to improve vision for visually impaired people, retinal implants are little light-sensitive chips embedded into the retina of the eye. They stimulate the remaining light-sensitive cells to restore some level of vision, with degraded colour vision restored in some cases.
In the future, it might be possible to have retinal implants that are sensitive to more than just the part of the electromagnetic spectrum that’s visible to humans. In theory, you might one day be able to see into the infrared or ultraviolet ranges, maybe even beyond. The same principle applies to cochlea implants, which have been developed to restore the hearing of people with auditory impairments.
While such devices exist, they’re nowhere near that advanced yet, but one day they might be. Which leads us to the key question: not whether this could happen, but whether it should. Restoring sight and hearing to those without them is one thing, but implanting devices to enhance perfectly functioning senses could be problematic.
Already, some patients with retinal implants have found themselves using obsolete technology that’s no longer supported. When the company that made your eyes goes out of business, what do you do? Or when the tech fails, as it inevitably will in some cases, will the work to repair, replace or remove it cause damage? Be careful what you wish for.
This article is an answer to the question (asked by Luke Parker, Southampton) 'Could technology give us more than five senses?'
To submit your questions, email us at questions@sciencefocus.com, or message our Facebook, X, or Instagram pages (don't forget to include your name and location).
Check out our ultimate fun facts page for more mind-blowing science.
Read more:
