The Future of Sensory Perception

Scientists and other sensory explorers are developing powerful new technologies that can change, enhance and perhaps expand the limits of what we can perceive. They are building retinal implants to restore vision to the blind, creating robotic limbs to touch at a distance, testing whether Tylenol can soothe the hurt of romantic rejection, using perfumes to help people with Alzheimer's recover lost memories, and searching for a mysterious "sixth taste." To explore the cutting edge of sensory science for her book We Have the Technology, Kara Platoni spent a year among perfumers, picklers, soldiers, engineers, cyborgs, robots, surgeons, virtual reality explorers and clockmakers. She'll share some of their stories, and thoughts on what they might mean for the future of human experience.

Speaker: Kara Platoni, UC Berkeley