I always wondered why you can't do this topically. Perhaps a magnet in some kind of elastic band around your finger? Or even glue a magnet to your fingernail?
It's about a guy who made a belt to always vibrate in the direction of true north.
Notably:
> I suddenly realized that my perception had shifted. I had some kind of internal map of the city in my head. I could always find my way home. Eventually, I felt I couldn't get lost, even in a completely new place.
So there does seem to be some kind of benefit to adding new senses whether through internal or external modification.
As a blind guy, I find this idea quite interesting. An extra sense of direction could indeed be useful. However, north alone isn't much. A system that encodes obstacles as vibrations would be nice. Indeed, such systems are already sold commercially for the blind, however, most that I checked out didn't really perform well in the real world.
The most recent version of the system in that article seems to have enabled navigation and pathfinding as well. But the vibrations are being used as a positive indicator (go there) rather than negative (don't go there).
Theres actually a whole bunch of "touch" senses and they are all tuned to different frequencies. As well as having neurons located in different depths. It makes sense that magnet closer to a neuron will transmit vibration to that neuron better.
Also practically, consider the feeling of a little bitty splinter embedded in your hand, versus on top of your hand
What about like fake fingerprints that are magnetic? I wonder how thin they can make magnetic sheets? It might be too weak though but you could potentially do all 10 fingers.
I think you're missing some of the point. Enthusiasts for this kind of thing are the same kind of people that inexplicably embed metal objects into their face just to feel different.
This is why I think languages could use a monosyllabic sound for open paren and close paren. The closest we have are like "um." You could say something like:
What about the parent was judgemental? I've had friends that were into body nodding, and they very proudly described themselves as wierd. That is one of the big draws, the unusual factor. Reading the parent, I see no reason to accuse them of being judgemental.
All this talk of being understanding and non-judgmental, but here you are, passing judgment on his words without caring to understand his intention. More concerned about how you think he ought to have said it than what he actually meant. This is the way to destroy open and honest communication in society. Passive-aggressiveness and silent grudges, everywhere.
And who made you the judge of condescension, anyway? How condescending is that. Hypocrisy.
Text is hard. The word inexplicably was intended to be used to suggest there's no clear value add, no increase in standard of living or health benefit or whatever to offset the health risk.
Lol @ "phrasing can be condescending", that's a silly level of pretend objectivity.
Wrt to "feeling different", thats what every body mod enthusiast I've ever met or seen on TV said their reason is.
As far as my opinion? There's nothing wrong with it. But I wouldn't hire them for any potentially customer facing roles.
> no increase in standard of living or health benefit
Many people use body modification to feel ownership and control over their bodies, or to essentially make a part of their identity physical. This no doubt has mental health benefits - my own piercings help me in feeling control over myself in a society that seeks to take that away from me.
> inexplicably embed metal objects into their face
> just to feel different.
Saying someone does something "just to feel different" is extremely condescending. It's like saying "just for attention" which is not the reason people do everything.
It is implying people who choose to do body modification are vain and childish.
Surely it's not necessary to put one inside you.