The Implications of Sensory Addition for Humans

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Sensory addition is the idea of creating new senses for humans. The brain doesn't care how information gets there, it just figures out what to do with it. You can learn to hear through your skin by making correlations with other senses. A wristband that listens in real time for high frequency parts of speech could replace hearing aids.

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David Eagleman (@davideagleman) is a neuroscientist, New York Times bestselling author, TED speaker, and Guggenheim Fellow. He is the writer and presenter of the Emmy-nominated series The Brain on PBS, as well as the podcast Inner Cosmos with David Eagleman. In Palo Alto, California, he teaches at Stanford University, runs a startup neurotech company called Neosensory, and directs the Center for Science and Law. Dr. Eagleman also runs a film and television production company, Cognito Entertainment, to bring scientific themes (fiction and nonfiction) to the screen. He is the author of eight books, including the international bestsellers Sum, Incognito, and his newest book, Livewired.

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[07:10] Mnemonists and synesthetes.

[12:13] Creating new senses.

[17:39] Practical applications in practice.

[24:36] Five years from now.

[28:26] The curious resilience and vulnerability of memory.

[32:25] Testing the accuracy of memory.

[34:50] Meeting Francis Crick.

[36:25] The dangerous lumberjack.

[39:43] Dream projects.

[41:23] Exploring consciousness.

[44:38] Dreaming and brain plasticity.

[54:13] Influences.