I really don't get the point in the example of a magnet implanted in the hand. When I drop a screw its either easily picked up with my fingers, or in a place my hand doesn't fit at all. If you really expect to drop small, ferrous objects frequently why not just carry a small magnet, or better yet one of those extending wands with a magnet on the end?
The second use case of dragging paper clips is even more confusing. I get the novelty I guess, but that's really worth the risk of the magnet hurting you in some way?
They mentioned it being strong enough to pick up scissors or a knife, that seems like a pretty easy way to accidentally slice open the side of your hand. The risk of coming across another strong magnet that snaps onto the meet of your hand also seems like it could be really annoying and painful, like pinching the side of your hand in a drawer.
It is absolutely for amusing fun.
"I bet I can lift that paperclip 6 inches off the table with one finger"
Mine is not strong enough to lift much more than a paperclip. However, I have many magnetic fidget toys and when one of those attracts to the finger magnet it does strongly which impedes blood flow to the skin in the middle. It's the same as a kid swallowing one bucky ball - probably does nothing - but if they swallow another, and they attract through tissue, problems.
It's clearly for fun and giggles, after few years you will forget about it, and maybe get and appointment for MRI. :)
Please leave your finger at the reception desk :)
Feeling electrical current without being electrocuted seems very useful to me!
Why not just wear gloves with embedded magnets? I don't understand the benefit of implanting the magnet.
Implanting seems to come with several drawbacks: infection risk, difficulty of removal if undergoing an MRI, and difficulty passing through security checkpoints.
The advantage is... Saving 5 seconds when compared to just wearing a glove with magnets in it? A glove would also likely provide far far better sensing (more and stronger magnets better placed).
Closer proximity to all the different vibration sensors in the skin helps with sensitivity as the bulk skin mass kind of acts as a low pass filter -- Consider the sensitivity with which you feel a splinter vs the sensitivity of that object on the skin surface.
Also, some people just seem to have a fetish for poking metal bits into themselves.
Maybe it's good for first dates or something, "wanna feel the lumps in my hand" is a bit more intimate than "wanna feel my glove"
Wearing magnetic gloves to a first date is a great way to not get a second one for sure.
I think you misunderstood what Biohacking is and replaced it with body modification.
I think the 'killer app' is missing here. If it was stand-alone tech, as a platform for something cool I would be considering inputs and outputs (HCI).
Personally I would be looking for a small microchip that could be charged externally and is able to interact with other devices. Potential applications:
* Some form of key storage where computation can be performed. Not just credit cards, passwords, but something more versatile and expandable.
* Connection to devices or hardware for personalisation, i.e. you could indicate to any car you drive your personal preferences, or where to query them. More day-to-day for tech people would be using a colleague's computer and having your mouse sensitivity preferences transferred, editor shortcuts available, etc.
* Constant health monitoring (movement, glucose, VO2, etc). We can get these things from watches and patches, but we ultimately have to take them off at some point to charge and to let our skin breath.
Ultimately, for most people the question that needs to be answered is "why would I, an otherwise healthy person, have a surgery with non-zero risk, to insert X? Why would I not just use X device?".
Some kind of low-risk and non-evasive interface to the brain would be a game changer. Some kind of interface to intended muscle actions could be big too, not just for the disabled but for exoskeleton functionality. I can definitely see an exoskeleton (of some kind) help older people remain more mobile (and economically productive) for longer. Normal jobs would have less wear and tear on the body (i.e. building trade, etc).
If you decide to do this, be sure to get it removed prior to the silicone rupturing and act with some urgency if you think it has. I enjoyed my magnetic implant for the time I had it but it did feel like a lil ticking timebomb after a few years.
Mine is coated in Schott 8625 bioglass, rather than silicone. This should help it hold up for a bit longer, and also makes it a bit easier to get it out should need be. I'll definitely be taking swift action should I notice something going awry.
I always thought the "feelSpace belt" was neat.
While it sure looks like fun, it doesn't really seem useful. All the use cases the author makes are more gimmicks than anything really useful. Actually, the thing influencing compasses seems really annoying. You'll never be able to have your smartphone show the correct walking direction while holding it in the hand with the magnet.
Ever since seeing some videos about it a while back, I've thought it would be cool to get an rfid implant so I can wave my hand at access card things and such like, though I hate needles (my 3 month blood tests are hell) and it's always seemed a little freaky to me. I've also seen videos of people just putting chunks of magnet in their skin (I think I saw cody's lab do it, though I'm not sure) and that seemed extremely sketchy, so I'm glad there are safer-seeming alternatives these days (wrapped in glass etc)
I’ve also thought of doing this, then i consider the possibility that one day I’m in a car accident and have an MRI while unconscious, only to suddenly reveal to everyone i had metal inside my body.
Improbable but i just don’t think the fun is worth it lol
Yeah, that was another concern of mine, or if I go through an airport scanner and have to answer awkward questions about why I've got a capsule concealed inside my body
As mentioned in the article, that shouldn't be an issue. Many people have reported going through without event. I'm looking to test it in a few months.
I’ve had one for ~7 years now and fly multiple times a year. I’ve never had it set off the metal detector, or more modern scanners at any security checkpoint in the US, or Mexico.
Yeah I know, I just get extra concerned about putting stuff inside my body like that :P
A perfectly reasonable concern.
For magnets, one that Dangerous Things used to sell (discontinued due to low volume) is encased in titanium, even better than bioglass. I have it in a finger and it'll last until I get it removed or die.
I also have an RFID/NFC implant and currently use it to get into my apartment. Have also used it for work and school cards in the past, it's easy to write new cards to it if the chip in the card is one that can be easily copied (most can).
I'd love to get a contactless payment card implanted in my hand, it would be like paying with magic at the shops. But I suspect those can't be cloned.
It's possible to make implantables with some banks through the same methods as wearables, which is pretty convenient. Otherwise, the option is to take your card and (assuming it's of the correct type) cut out the chip inside and coat it to make it safe for implantation. I'm aware of at least one business that offers turning credit cards into implants as a service. Cloning is pretty much a no-go as you suspected.
Can it be done with some kind of reprogrammable chip? I could see myself getting the surgery once, but I definitely don't want surgery every 3 years every time the expiration date on my card resets (or whenever I change banks, etc)
You would need not only to cut out and implant the chip itself, but the sizeable loop antenna that runs in a rectangle close to the perimeter of the NFC card. It'd be a hassle!
My understanding is that it depends very much on the card. Certain ones can be done more or less with just the chip, others are much more involved, and others can't be done at all. From my brief research, there is a lot of technological variation inside credit cards, even if they mostly all look the same on the surface level.
If you're interested in experimenting this, but don't want an implant, you can buy magnetic rings (for your fingers). Why do these exist? Magicians.
They can be non-surgically removed prior to MRIs, instead of during.
I have had one of these for years and the right size makes all the difference. Some fun things include the ability to feel where the metal studs are in building walls, where the electrical lines are under the ground and of course the microwave. The most interesting part is how I conceptually had thought of electrical fields as 2d (because of pictures and school), but in reality they are 3d and so it is like reaching into a sphere of various sizes, the deeper you go in this sphere the stronger the field.
May I ask if you have a recommended style or material that you prefer for sensing? The idea of sensing EM fields is fascinating to me but I've never quite made the leap to an implant. I didn't realize these kinds of rings exist.
If you mean ring type I don't remember which one worked best, sorry.
As for my favorite EM field there is a nearby street with buried powers lines and transformer boxes at ground level. As you walk the street to the main street each box has a bigger EM sphere and I like to let my hand coast over each sphere. It isn't a sphere per say, but only in the sense that at at certain depth in the field the density (for lack of a better term) becomes high enough that I can feel it and it is like a boundary line
I am not familiar with with the rules for piercers and I am certain they are different in different countries but what from of anaesthetics are they legally allowed to administer and at what strength?
Or do you just bite down on a bullet?
As far as I knew, there's no anesthetic when you're getting a piercing. I'm in Canada.
You just hold your friend's hand real tight.
Yep, but you do get one advantage which is the needles piercers use are incredibly sharp. It can be a huge (in diameter) needle but it will feel like a pinprick.
Can confirm. It certainly wasn't painless, but my experience didn't merit anaesthetics. Even the slight pain in the hours afterwards wasn't all that noteworthy.
At least in the US, you just bite down. At best they can apply some over-the-counter lidocaine
Source: I got an NFC tag in my hand
How much greater is the utility and sixth-sense as something embedded under the skin vs worn on a ring?
Worn as a ring, it probably wouldn't be great for sensing, as I'd suggest it'd hamper vibration and fine feedback. Some people do trial the experience by attaching it to themselves, usually with glue or tape.
I think having it externally would be an inconvenience, and if it wasn't done constantly, I don't think the brain would learn to interpret it in quite the same way. It'd also likely get in your way during daily tasks. Ideally, you want to put it in a location with high sensation (this is why many people choose their fingertips), so any advantageous location would probably be a hindrance.
You could always wear a magnetic ring for lifting, though. I actually purchased my father a magnet-filled wristband for holding screws, bolts, etc, once I realised the utility of such a thing via my implant.
I guess you're planning to never need an MRI?
Not planning on one, no. People have made it through low Tesla MRIs with only a bit of discomfort, though I'm not sure if that's a risk I'm willing to take.
Chances are I'll be able to discuss it with the technician or get it removed prior.
If it were me, i would get a tattoo above the location saying that there is removable material underneath, and get it added to you medical records. There probably should be a way to tattoo a universal message for the medical profession [1], i.e. 'do not resuscitate', 'allergic to X', 'metal under skin here', etc. There are relatively universal signs for magnets for example [2].
[1] https://www.health4you.co.za/directory/category/tattoos/medi...
[2] https://openclipart.org/detail/281487/magnets-warning-symbol
The author mentions MRI in the article.
most people never need one
Not sure. According to this there are 40M given a year in the US,
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38021512/
which is about 1 in 9 people. If those scans were evenly distributed everyone would get several in a lifetime although there is probably a Pareto thing going on to the effect that "20% of people get 80% of the scans".
It's pretty routine for common soft tissue injuries. My son got a minor injury at work and had a Workman's Comp claim and got his knee scanned (puts a bound on liability I guess); I got my knee scanned because I'd had patello-femoral pain for a while and wanted to try steroid injections (didn't stick with it, my wife has given steroid injections to numerous horses, she tells me it helps in the short term but not the long term) Like my scan his scan came back with "degenerative changes consistent with your age".
It may be a waste in most cases
https://www.mymosh.com/spine/mri-for-back-pain-be-careful-wh...
I'm not sure that's true. I can't think of a single person I know over 35 that hasn't had one at some point. I'm an edge case for MRIs (I've had well over a dozen, maybe even two dozen), but I had to get one for a badly sprained ankle and that's a relatively common injury.
How about having a skin pocket made in the same location so you could pull it in and out upgrade / remove
You can get the same effect by gluing the magnet to the outside skin. It’s not as cool but feeling EM is awesome and you can glue a variety of strengths. Fingertips.
Interesting project. Not something I'd do myself! If you look at your past, did anything foreshadow that you'd one day do this? Like you played a game with a modified character or something like that? Also, one semi-serious question: what does your mom think of it?
I can't say there is anything I'd point to that foreshadowed me doing this. I've got little personal interest in tattoos and haven't even got my ears pierced. I suppose I quite liked watching Inspector Gadget as a child, but I'm not sure how much influence that had. :)
As for what my mum thinks: she isn't a huge fan. I'd expressed my interest to her prior to getting it put in, and she wasn't entirely for it, but she honestly doesn't seem to care all that much and understands it is something I really wanted.
When I read the bit about feeling a microwave oven running, it made me wonder what those revolving TSA scanners would feel like by comparison.
I felt nothing. Been through UK/US customs a few times with a magnet in one finger and 3 rfid implants and I felt nothing. Nothing was detected.
Maybe the magnet was detected but as I have my hands out and fingers spread a visual check would dismiss any threat. The same could be said for non-magnetic steel implants I have - one in each hand.
This used to be a huge craze back in the early internet. I did a couple of interesting magnet stuff myself and also zapping the back of the brain with electricity.