From: Phil Goetz (philgoetz@yahoo.com)
Date: Fri Nov 04 2005 - 16:12:56 MST
--- "Stuart, Ian" <Ian.Stuart@woolpert.com> wrote:
> So, the apparent answer to the question of adding sensory modalities
> to
> an existing human is that, since the cortex is accounted for by the
> existing senses plus motor control, you would have to accept the loss
> of
> cortical tissue to some other sense in order to make room for a new
> one,
> and obviously the bandwidth required by the new sense would dictate
> the
> area you would be required to forefeit. So the question then becomes,
> which existing input stream is the least necessary for success in the
> modern human environment? i.e. Which could we get rid of with the
> least
> amount of impact on daily life? I don't seem to be using my sense of
> smell very often . . .
I don't think you'd want to give up a sense - just reduce its
resolution. Have less ability to discern smells, or colors, or sounds,
for instance. Or have a less finely-discerning sense of touch on some
part of your body. Or decrease the range. You could cut off audio
above 20,000Hz without much loss.
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