i wouldnt call this a new sense. its not a medium to clarify our environment, or a new way for the body to sense the outside world. its just a better way of accessing information for our senses. technological augmentation is something that we will see grow in the future. stuff that you see in science fiction is already starting to become current technology (ipads as a flat computer for example).

with the increase in how we handle information we are going to need better ways of clarifying and sorting what is out there. the web is already filled with the dead sites and irrelevant or erroneous information. how we better clarify this data will greatly improve what we can do with it and how fast. nothing can beat the human brain. all this stuff that the lady here has shown we can do much quicker and less cumbersome, all we need is the proper device to do so. i can re-size imagines much quickly by hand then random finger movements. the portability of such a device is interesting through. it would be better if you didnt need a surface but perhaps was projected onto a contact lens where you could use your fingers to navigate using a virtual screen.

in the next 20 years we are going to see a single device that does everything for us, already we reduced the gadgets we carry and increased the functions of what we carry. 10 years ago a cell phone was about as advanced as it gets, now its a camera, can surf the web, act as a gps, or plays games.

You are absolutley correct. Now, as it stands, this is just a device. Personally, I believe it could evolve into a virtual sense.

I would say it is the beginning of what could be a new sense. I think the new sense is simply access to the internet. I know, I know but hear me out.

Have any of you read the space opera "Fallen Dragon" by Peter F. Hamilton? If so, this is going to sound rather familiar...

Imagine your brain has wifi capabilities. It also can display holographic images and text, yet strictly in your mind so that you are the only one to "see" it. Now you could simply connect to a data pool, such as the internet, think a query and have an answer. This could be considered a new sense.

One would be able to stream live video feeds. IM using this artificial telepathy. Connect to servers and play games remotely using thought alone.

Alerts could be sent out for flood or tornado warnings with no fear of not getting the message out in time.

Health statistics could be monitored more closely by physicians. The elderly wouldn't necessarily need to live in nursing homes. Doctors could have instant, accurate, and automatic diagnostics.

Control lights and security systems for the home from literally anywhere on the planet.

All this, I believe, is the ultimate goal of projects such as these.

I'd hate to see the brain hacking methods that would arise from such a plan.

But it would be quite cool.

Not by me. A while back, there was speculation of putting USB ports or whatever into the back of your neck so you could read information from computers, and I wouldn't have considered that a sixth sense, either. Generally when I think of a sixth sense, I think of sensing something more intagible. Something like how animals can sense an earthquake before we do. Or how a parent can sense when their child is in danger. Or how one twin can sense where the other is. In that respect, some of us already have a sixth sense.

This stuff, on the other hand, is just information gathered from the internet. Something we can already do with computers and cell phones. It's certainly not a sixth sense as it is right now. Plugging a device into your brain won't make much difference.

I say, telepathy, pseudo or not, is a sense. If I could think something to you and you could think that something from me, without the help of a machine, would that not be a sense? This is just artificial rather than natural.

Another point is it is not unlike the tiny bones in the ear. The machine in the brain would allow me to interpret input. Audio or radio waves, bones or machine, I see little difference.

Well, as for artifical telepathy and stuff, I believe it would not be a 'sense' because it's augmenting an already existent sense, making use of the auditory centers in the brain. A 'sense' is mental interpretation of physical reality. A new sense would be a new way of interpreting physical stimuli. We cannot imagine what a new sense would be in the same way a man who is blind from birth cannot imagine sight. It brings nothing new to the table, only renovates something old. Which isn't to denigrate it or anything--it's just not a sense.

Or, to come at it from the backdoor, it's not a sense because it doesn't provide a unique 'sensation', such as sounds, smells, and tastes. A hologram (internal or otherwise) is a sight, artificial 'telepathy' is a sound, etc. There is no basic unit of sensory experience for it. 'Sixth Sense' is basically an explanatory metaphor, from my understanding, rather than an actual description.

The video itself is very interesting.

Yes the 'Sixth Sense' line is just a metaphor, and the device shown does work on sight, sound and at times touch, but my point of it being a new sense is based on its potential many after iterations.

Like the robotic third arm controlled by thought, or computer mice and keys by thought with paralyzed people, it would likely be a new part of the brain that would be used. In every case it has shown to be a part separated from other functions used.

The artificial telepathy isn't necessarily sound or sight. Just access to information that is new. This could be a sense since all other senses stimulate memories of early instances of the stimuli to compare with and in recognition of the specific object. If one has access to information through thought, be it of things or sounds, with nothing comparable in an individuals memory, how then would that individual be able to interpret the input? Point is, Helen Keller would be able to understand them as well as you or I because it is based on thought, not sight or sound.

Just as you used the argument of the blind man, I had used it too to help describe the sensations of this new input to help me to get my ideas across. Perhaps that was a mistake as I imagine this as foreign to us as sight is to a blind man.

But in reality, who knows? Until any direct neural interface (another term I am borrowing from Hamilton) is implemented, we may never know.

all very much like ghost in the shell and other similar works. a brain hack could one day be a possibility.

augmented reality is something different all together. its more like an amalgamated way of receiving information as you still have to process it using the cardinal senses. i may not visually see an image with my eyes but i still "view" it as if i would, and even with the experiences direct interface would bring, i still have to qualify those feelings through primary sense perception.

one of the greatest programs ever invented is search engines. you have a massive pool of information, and a search engine is a great way to define what each site is and give you a mostly reasonable result to what you want to find. a tool like this one is a good way to directly interface with a computer, allowing quicker information. the more information and the better your ability to comb through it, the less time you waste searching and the more time you can invest in doing. more free time could be an end result, better and precise solutions would be a great benefit, and unprecedented information access could great many new possibilities.

as wondrous and great as this is, its an augment, not a sensory function.