Would you have your eyes altered so as to be able to see into the Infrared Spectrum?

jerrickventures.com...

Big news from our correspondent in the Transhuman underground: basement biohackers, attempting near-infrared vision experiments, want us to see the world very differently.

I hate rainbows.

Sure, they symbolize many positive things to different cultures: peace, sexual identity, a bridge to heaven. But I hate real rainbows. Every time I see one of those clown-colored frowns in the sky, I’m reminded of the limitations of human perception. Of the vast wavelengths that span the electromagnetic spectrum, humans can see a mere 2.3%. Those mocking slivers of light we call rainbows? They’re just a fraction of the real picture.

It’s a thing to wonder at—that mankind has managed to create the advanced technologies we enjoy today while only observing 2.3% of reality. Occasionally we glimpse shadows cast by unseen forces; working in our allegorical caves, we’ve crafted abstract theories to understand x-rays, radio, microwaves, and gamma rays. But how much more advanced would humanity be if we could perceive the other 97.7% of reality? What heights could we reach if we were born with the ability to see it all?


www.scienceforthemasses.org...

transhumanity.net...


"There does not seem to be much consideration for the fact that we are fundamentally broken beings, and until we figure which parts of the beast are noble, and which should stay and which pieces need gutted, no technology in the world will make us transhuman."

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(Mods, again, please note that this was THE best place I could find to put this thread. I feel it does come into play with the over "philosophy" of Transhumanism and Body Modification, and I'm sure it will be an eye opening (parden the pun) and enlightening read for many)


The views of a Sadist.....


Much like my other thread in this forum, am I going to go out and get this done? Probably not

But, it is RATHER intriguing! Imagine the day that it can be as easy as getting Lazik surgery done? Night time vision? Better Driving? These are most definitely the things of Science Fiction and Fantasy.

The possibilities are endless. Why not alter, and improve our bodies? After all, it's the one TRUE thing we own in this life.....

Fascinating OP, I look forward to reading what ensues.

In a heart beat.

In ww2, the army experimented with massive doses of Vitamins A and K I believe, from what I remember reading it actually gave a limited night vision with constant dosage.

Isn't that what they have night vision goggles for? I bet they are cheaper than modifying your eyes. I can see in the dark anyway, I just can't see much.

rickymouse
Isn't that what they have night vision goggles for? I bet they are cheaper than modifying your eyes. I can see in the dark anyway, I just can't see much.

Wow, I've seen a few of your posts. You really do live to simply be contrarian in just about any form or fashion, do you.

"I can see in the dark anyway, I just can't see much."

Uh-huh...great addition to the thread.

This is about ACTUAL BODY MODIFICATION, rather than RELYING on technological devices.

Or was that somehow not clear?

As awesome as that might seem, our eyes our adapted to the spectrum we see for a reason.. we're bombarded with infrared.. it's the pitch black syndrome (movie, look it up).. you'd probably need protective eye wear covering your eyes all day and could only remove it at night.. as awesome as it sounds, it would ultimately be a curse unless you could control it .. UV is everywhere... so yeah you could see at night and you you'd be blinded by day since the sun is bombarding us with UV

SadistNocturne
Wow, I've seen a few of your posts. You really do live to simply be contrarian in just about any form or fashion, do you.

"I can see in the dark anyway, I just can't see much."

Uh-huh...great addition to the thread.

This is about ACTUAL BODY MODIFICATION, rather than RELYING on technological devices.

Or was that somehow not clear?

Your rant didn't bring much to the thread either.... it's not suitable to the world we live in .. it's actually pretty lame .. it's not like regretting a tattoo .. it's like being 90 and regretting you can't go out in the sun anymore, ever without your face being covered without risk of going blind ... think ahead much? it makes FAR more sense to adapt technology.. contact lenses even.. that enhance our existing ability..then we can exist in any environment..

very intriguing! +1
If I could I would alter my vision to do so, yes. Also, what the other poster said about during WWII with the night vision also caught my interest. Any way to boost my senses past the norm always have intrigued me, however, the side effects are what I'd be eerie about -- they may be difficult to adjust to. . .

~Sovereign

reply to post by SadistNocturne


You can modify the eyes, but you would need to modify the brain also to be able to utilize the new vision properly. When we look through night vision goggles, they are designed to help our eyes to see, not change the vision itself. Our eyes can see more than our brain can understand, our brains filter certain things out. To work this out it would be necessary to dope the brains filtering system. I think that this could just make people not see very good in the daytime. There is a condition where people lose their ability to see in daylight properly and they can see better at night, it is because the cornea gets shiny and reflects back in like a cat's eyes do. Well, not exactly but just as an example. The things that are shiny get bright in daylight but seeing in the dark gets better.

People have radar also. We can see by echolocation like a bat. There has been a lot of testing on that and some people in law enforcement are taught how to use this. I guess it is simple to use, blind people are trained to tap their cane to see where they are going. You probably won't be able to recognize a face but may be able to sense the person.

SovereignEve
very intriguing! +1
If I could I would alter my vision to do so, yes. Also, what the other poster said about during WWII with the night vision also caught my interest. Any way to boost my senses past the norm always have intrigued me, however, the side effects are what I'd be eerie about -- they may be difficult to adjust to. . .

~Sovereign

You shouldn't want to ... you should want technology to enhance your vision than can be shut off.. you don't want bombarded with IR all your life.. that would suck...

Seems too many are romanticizing this without thinking it through.. having some tech to enable and disable it? yes.. altering your vision permanently? foolish.. imagine being blinded by someone's tv remote .. and totally blinded during the day time

You do realize that you can "see" into the infra-red with your skin, don't you?

DJW001
You do realize that you can "see" into the infra-red with your skin, don't you?

You can feel IR with heat.. but that's not seeing .. and entirely useless.. explain yourself..?

reply to post by miniatus


Well, of course going about it in a certain way like you stated. I mentioned the side effects -- that alone would turn me off to the idea in full. Usually, any thing about enhancing our senses catches my eye (no pun intended). . . I think it relates to my interest with biology and us Humans being thee apex predator -- these kind of enhancements could make us all around better as said predator -- of course this is looking at it from an evolutionary & biological stand point. Which, I guess, looking at these enhancements in that light would stand very little if any relevance in today's modern world.

~Sovereign

SovereignEve
reply to post by miniatus

 

Well, of course going about it in a certain way like you stated. I mentioned the side effects -- that alone would turn me off to the idea in full. Usually, any thing about enhancing our senses usually catches my eye (no pun intended). . . I think it relates to my interest with biology and us Humans being thee ultimate apex predator -- these kind of enhancements could make us all around better as said predator -- of course this is looking at it from an evolutionary & biological stand point, which would stand very little if any relevance in today's modern world.

~Sovereign

I'm all about ENHANCING our senses.. but this isn't enhancing .. this is actually downgrading.. we've evolved to deal with the light spectrum in a way that benefits us.. and it's turned out to be beneficial.. if we were nocturnal it would help, but our bodies thrive better in light.. the ultimate body modification would take after lizards and give us a secondary lens .. a day lens and night lens.. the day lens would block out the uv =)

But we don't have that.. so tech mods are best.. the technology allows both without eliminating our current abilities ..

reply to post by miniatus

You can feel IR with heat.. but that's not seeing .. and entirely useless.. explain yourself..? You can feel IR with heat.. but that's not seeing .. and entirely useless.. explain yourself..?

You can detect infra-red with your skin. You can, for example, follow the course of a steam pipe through the wall with your hand. What sort of explanation do you require?

DJW001
reply to post by miniatus

 

You can feel IR with heat.. but that's not seeing .. and entirely useless.. explain yourself..? You can feel IR with heat.. but that's not seeing .. and entirely useless.. explain yourself..?

You can detect infra-red with your skin. You can, for example, follow the course of a steam pipe through the wall with your hand. What sort of explanation do you require?

You're talking about the up close radiation of heat.. you can do that fine with flir equipment from a distance.. but you can't with the human senses... yeah if you wanna go feeling around for heat then you're right.. it's HORRIBLY inefficient .. I can detect boiling water if I shove my hand in it .. but with flir IR i can detect it hundreds of feet away.. what point are you bringing to the picture?

I only mention flir because they rule the product market.. you can detect heat from a HUGE distance ..your point is invalid because it's impracticable

reply to post by miniatus


Erm... what's your point? You want to detect heat? We can detect heat. Why use your eyes when you can use other sensors?

I think if it made sense for us to have, we would have it. Although i always wanted to fly, then again, I saw a seagull # on my sisters ice cream once.....

DJW001
reply to post by miniatus

 

Erm... what's your point? You want to detect heat? We can detect heat. Why use your eyes when you can use other sensors?

If you're asking this then you don't know your science.. so I'm not wasting my time.. =) if you have a smart question, please do.

Edit:

Just encase you're lazy..and you probably are..

home.howstuffworks.com...

This is mostly accurate


It at least begins.. need more?

reply to post by miniatus

If you're asking this then you don't know your science.. so I'm not wasting my time.. =) if you have a smart question, please do.

Here's a smart question: how relevant is resolution when it comes to ambient temperature?