When Neil Harbisson
failed to note the difference between the national flag of Italy and France, he
knew he was different, he had color blindness. I’d have quietly quit living
life for real and backpacked to the North Pole where it is black and white
anyway. I would have missed many beautiful things, like the setting sun over
Marina beach, the lush green forests of Malappuram, and the flaming deserts of
Rajasthan. What a waste of life if all you can see is a black and white all
around you. A black and white TV?
Unlike me, Neil
Harbisson was no muck to give up on life for a thing as difficult as color
blindness. He made up his mind to perceive color with his other senses, what
about hearing the sound of a flag or the sound of an indecipherable Picasso
painting. Doesn’t that sound nice? Or does that sound like an idea from science
fiction story?
Now, close your eyes.
Take a deep breath. Imagine your most favorite person. Take another breath. Imagine
listening to the music of the beautiful brown eyes of your favorite person. You
can do that at any place, especially if you are ever caught up in a never
ending tunnel while travelling in a train with no power supply. With practice,
you will gain expertise to hum the song of the eyes of your favorite person
with your eyes wide open. This is an after lunch office trick that can come in
handy in conference rooms.
What about
composing music by looking at a face? What if you can feel the face of your
mother through the sound of her face? That serene sound can peel away the
loneliness that is all too common in our ever demanding life. That alone can
weed out every inch of stress from your mind.
Have you ever been chased by a dog? Never?
But then you never threw stone at an unchained canine, did you? Did you know
that a dog can chase you down an alley with his eyes closed? True story. Like
dogs, most animals survive in this tough world with the help of pronounced
sense of something. It may be sound, sight, touch or even a sense that is yet
to be uncovered by sloths like us. I don’t mind becoming a Tommy, that dog who
chased me like only a dog can do, if I had that super power of smell. I’d
probably smell the chicken soup in the cafeteria while I compiled programs sitting
on the broken chair in my cubicle.
Why am I writing
about weird things? Because all the ideas are weird until they catch on. Franklin
Templeton Investments partnered the TEDxGateway Mumbai in December
2012, and one of the most fascinating ideas came from Neil Harbisson. If music
becomes color, hearing radio will become a colorful experience, we can hear
paintings, and then begin dress in a way that sounds good rather than dress
that looks good. Harbisson explains about using technology to achieve all these
-the idea of Cyborgism- integration of technology and human body.
The Cyborg
foundation provides free Cybernetic extensions to make all these things happen.
They explain how to build it at home –and read this carefully- the software is
open, and there is no sales pitch to buy a heap of trash.
What I liked best about being a cyborg is the
idea of getting old. The cybernetic extensions become easy to use with time,
like any technology, it takes time to become accustomed to it. As Neil
Harbisson said, ‘If I had only human
senses, my senses would deteriorate as I grow older, but if you are a cyborg,
the older you get the better your senses become.’
Possibilities are
endless, and the idea of Cybernetic extension is the first step in bringing
equality among the human race. Nobody will miss that setting sun over Marina
beach, the lush green forests of Malappuram, or the flaming deserts of
Rajasthan.
I want to be a Cyborg. What about you?
