1 00:00:03,837 --> 00:00:06,632 ‐(clicking tongue) ‐with his ears. 2 00:00:06,715 --> 00:00:09,760 A deaf man who hears 3 00:00:09,843 --> 00:00:11,970 with his eyes. 4 00:00:12,054 --> 00:00:14,097 And a man who lives in a world 5 00:00:14,181 --> 00:00:16,141 completely devoid of pain. 6 00:00:18,936 --> 00:00:21,522 Sight, sound, 7 00:00:21,605 --> 00:00:24,942 taste, touch and smell. 8 00:00:25,025 --> 00:00:26,902 These five senses are what we humans use 9 00:00:26,985 --> 00:00:28,362 to perceive the world around us. 10 00:00:28,445 --> 00:00:30,906 We tend to think we understand them pretty well. 11 00:00:30,989 --> 00:00:33,867 After all, we use them every day. 12 00:00:33,951 --> 00:00:36,745 But what about people whose abilities 13 00:00:36,828 --> 00:00:38,622 are so acutely developed, 14 00:00:38,705 --> 00:00:42,918 they challenge everything we know about our minds, 15 00:00:43,001 --> 00:00:47,923 our bodies, and even reality itself. 16 00:00:48,006 --> 00:00:52,719 Well, that is what we'll try and find out. 17 00:00:52,803 --> 00:00:54,972 ♪ ♪ 18 00:01:05,857 --> 00:01:08,026 ♪ ♪ 19 00:01:11,029 --> 00:01:13,365 Professional swordsman Isao Machii 20 00:01:13,448 --> 00:01:17,077 is about to perform an incredible demonstration. 21 00:01:17,160 --> 00:01:19,496 He will attempt to cut a baseball, 22 00:01:19,580 --> 00:01:22,124 traveling at a hundred miles per hour, 23 00:01:22,207 --> 00:01:24,293 perfectly in half, 24 00:01:24,334 --> 00:01:27,671 and from a distance of only 30 feet away. 25 00:01:27,754 --> 00:01:29,965 It seems impossible. 26 00:01:30,007 --> 00:01:32,676 That is... 27 00:01:32,759 --> 00:01:34,052 until he does it. 28 00:01:34,136 --> 00:01:35,596 MICHAEL DENNIN: When I first saw 29 00:01:35,679 --> 00:01:38,140 the video of the samurai cutting the ball in half, 30 00:01:38,223 --> 00:01:39,808 I was absolutely amazed. 31 00:01:39,891 --> 00:01:41,435 What I like about video these days 32 00:01:41,518 --> 00:01:43,312 is you can do some simple physics. 33 00:01:43,353 --> 00:01:45,272 You know, he's maybe sort of 30 feet away, 34 00:01:45,355 --> 00:01:47,441 the ball is roughly a hundred miles an hour, 35 00:01:47,524 --> 00:01:49,234 and that gives you a reaction time 36 00:01:49,318 --> 00:01:51,820 of essentially .2 seconds, in this case. 37 00:01:51,862 --> 00:01:55,240 Typical reaction times for a really elite baseball player 38 00:01:55,324 --> 00:01:59,536 trying to hit a fastball tend to be around .4 seconds. 39 00:01:59,620 --> 00:02:01,496 Actually, this is a more difficult task 40 00:02:01,538 --> 00:02:04,458 than something like baseball pitching, because clearly, 41 00:02:04,541 --> 00:02:06,918 with baseball pitching, you pick up information 42 00:02:07,002 --> 00:02:08,920 from the body shape of the pitcher, 43 00:02:09,004 --> 00:02:10,964 which tells you loosely 44 00:02:11,006 --> 00:02:13,050 when the ball is going to be released. 45 00:02:13,133 --> 00:02:14,468 Whereas in this instance, 46 00:02:14,509 --> 00:02:16,928 he seems to have a wall in front of him. 47 00:02:17,012 --> 00:02:18,430 There's a lot of uncertainty 48 00:02:18,513 --> 00:02:21,308 in terms of when the ball will begin its flight. 49 00:02:21,350 --> 00:02:23,018 And the fact that he can do all these things 50 00:02:23,101 --> 00:02:25,103 in 200 milliseconds is obviously quite amazing. 51 00:02:25,187 --> 00:02:26,647 SHATNER: In this 52 00:02:26,688 --> 00:02:28,482 and in numerous other demonstrations, 53 00:02:28,565 --> 00:02:31,568 Machii has shown a remarkable ability 54 00:02:31,652 --> 00:02:33,987 to visually track fast‐moving objects 55 00:02:34,029 --> 00:02:37,491 with an acuity that few can even dream of. 56 00:02:39,826 --> 00:02:41,286 But how? 57 00:02:41,370 --> 00:02:44,122 Perhaps the answer can be found by examining the history 58 00:02:44,206 --> 00:02:46,833 of a man who can "see" the world around him 59 00:02:46,875 --> 00:02:48,627 just as well as, or even better, 60 00:02:48,669 --> 00:02:50,379 than most people, 61 00:02:50,462 --> 00:02:53,757 despite the fact that he doesn't have eyes. 62 00:03:01,181 --> 00:03:02,849 Two‐year‐old Daniel Kish, 63 00:03:02,933 --> 00:03:06,228 just one year after having both eyes removed due to cancer, 64 00:03:06,311 --> 00:03:08,146 sneaks out of his crib 65 00:03:08,230 --> 00:03:11,525 to explore his family's backyard. 66 00:03:12,651 --> 00:03:15,070 Far from being fearful or afraid, 67 00:03:15,153 --> 00:03:19,324 Daniel is as confident as he is curious, 68 00:03:19,366 --> 00:03:21,493 because, at just two years old, 69 00:03:21,576 --> 00:03:25,580 he has developed an ability called echolocation, 70 00:03:25,664 --> 00:03:29,751 which allows him to see by using his ears. 71 00:03:29,835 --> 00:03:32,254 For those of us that study sensory systems, 72 00:03:32,337 --> 00:03:34,297 Daniel Kish is a rock star. 73 00:03:34,381 --> 00:03:36,466 (clicking tongue) 74 00:03:36,508 --> 00:03:39,469 He is clearly the most studied human 75 00:03:39,511 --> 00:03:41,388 that actively echolocates. 76 00:03:41,471 --> 00:03:43,974 (indistinct chatter in distance) 77 00:03:44,057 --> 00:03:46,643 So he will emit sounds himself. 78 00:03:46,685 --> 00:03:49,146 These sounds will go and bounce off objects 79 00:03:49,229 --> 00:03:51,273 and come back to his own ears, 80 00:03:51,356 --> 00:03:54,025 and these noises provide him information on... 81 00:03:54,109 --> 00:03:58,488 distance to a target, what that target might actually be, 82 00:03:58,530 --> 00:04:01,158 how dense it is, how light it might be, 83 00:04:01,241 --> 00:04:02,659 its shape. 84 00:04:02,743 --> 00:04:06,079 I've been able to echolocate for as long as I can remember, 85 00:04:06,163 --> 00:04:09,499 and for me it was as natural as breathing. 86 00:04:09,541 --> 00:04:11,668 It was just my way of seeing. 87 00:04:11,752 --> 00:04:14,629 I didn't really know it was echolocation per se. 88 00:04:14,713 --> 00:04:18,467 I just knew that I was aware of my surroundings 89 00:04:18,550 --> 00:04:21,762 and that I could function with that awareness. 90 00:04:21,845 --> 00:04:24,639 It was just sort of part of the process of learning to see, 91 00:04:24,723 --> 00:04:28,185 which is very much what sighted kids actually do 92 00:04:28,268 --> 00:04:31,104 as they begin to calibrate their vision. 93 00:04:31,188 --> 00:04:33,774 After that, it was just sort of normal. 94 00:04:33,857 --> 00:04:36,610 It was just a matter of course to click and scan 95 00:04:36,693 --> 00:04:37,903 and find things 96 00:04:37,986 --> 00:04:41,239 and to not really be afraid of what was out there. 97 00:04:41,323 --> 00:04:42,824 LOMBER: For most of us, 98 00:04:42,908 --> 00:04:45,243 if you've ever had any experience with echolocation, 99 00:04:45,327 --> 00:04:47,370 it's probably when you've been told 100 00:04:47,454 --> 00:04:49,706 about how bats work, right? 101 00:04:49,790 --> 00:04:51,458 Bats emit a sound. 102 00:04:51,541 --> 00:04:54,795 The sound bounces off objects and then comes back to them. 103 00:04:54,836 --> 00:04:58,256 So they can actually determine how far away an object is, 104 00:04:58,340 --> 00:05:01,468 what its size and shape may be, and so forth. 105 00:05:01,510 --> 00:05:03,637 And what Daniel's done is, he's taken this idea 106 00:05:03,720 --> 00:05:06,139 and, uh, basically, uh, turned it into something 107 00:05:06,181 --> 00:05:08,016 that humans can actually use. 108 00:05:09,392 --> 00:05:10,977 KISH: Without ultrasonic hearing, 109 00:05:11,061 --> 00:05:14,189 without all of the advantages that bats have evolved, 110 00:05:14,272 --> 00:05:16,399 humans are somehow able to do this, 111 00:05:16,483 --> 00:05:19,110 and relatively easily. 112 00:05:19,194 --> 00:05:22,447 So... how? Why? 113 00:05:22,531 --> 00:05:26,910 I believe that we can do this because we always have. 114 00:05:26,993 --> 00:05:30,997 We've been doing it since man was prey and not predator, 115 00:05:31,039 --> 00:05:32,833 since we had to hide in the dark. 116 00:05:32,874 --> 00:05:36,044 So we don't have to develop these systems from scratch. 117 00:05:36,127 --> 00:05:38,088 All we have to do is turn them on. 118 00:05:38,171 --> 00:05:39,714 (clicking tongue) 119 00:05:39,798 --> 00:05:41,508 SHATNER: By making clicking sounds 120 00:05:41,591 --> 00:05:44,010 and then listening to how those sounds reverberate 121 00:05:44,094 --> 00:05:45,512 off what's around him, 122 00:05:45,595 --> 00:05:48,515 Daniel is able to create a virtual picture 123 00:05:48,598 --> 00:05:52,811 of his surroundings with astonishing accuracy. 124 00:05:52,894 --> 00:05:54,229 (tongue clicking) 125 00:05:54,312 --> 00:05:56,022 ANIL SETH: Neurobiologically, 126 00:05:56,106 --> 00:05:57,649 I think this speaks to something 127 00:05:57,691 --> 00:06:00,402 that we call sensory substitution. 128 00:06:00,485 --> 00:06:06,491 That his visual cortex has been appropriated, if you like, 129 00:06:06,533 --> 00:06:09,703 because it's not receiving visual information. 130 00:06:10,996 --> 00:06:12,622 SHATNER: Daniel's rare abilities 131 00:06:12,706 --> 00:06:15,375 made him the world's foremost echolocator. 132 00:06:15,458 --> 00:06:18,086 But there are some in the scientific community 133 00:06:18,169 --> 00:06:22,465 who question the extraordinary nature of Daniel's ability. 134 00:06:22,507 --> 00:06:24,467 They argue that it's more likely 135 00:06:24,509 --> 00:06:26,469 that Daniel's simply making lucky guesses 136 00:06:26,553 --> 00:06:29,347 when he claims to sense his environment. 137 00:06:29,431 --> 00:06:32,475 But for Daniel, there's no question. 138 00:06:32,559 --> 00:06:36,146 He sees a map in his mind. 139 00:06:36,187 --> 00:06:38,481 And what's more... 140 00:06:38,565 --> 00:06:41,484 ‐(clicking tongue) ‐he can prove it. 141 00:06:41,526 --> 00:06:43,320 LOMBER: Even though he's never seen, 142 00:06:43,361 --> 00:06:45,614 he's clearly using his echolocation skills 143 00:06:45,697 --> 00:06:49,492 to construct some sort of map of the visual world, 144 00:06:49,576 --> 00:06:51,161 although he doesn't have any experience 145 00:06:51,244 --> 00:06:53,496 with the visual world the way someone that's sighted does. 146 00:06:53,580 --> 00:06:55,081 (clicking tongue) 147 00:06:55,165 --> 00:06:57,000 KISH: When I visit a new place, 148 00:06:57,042 --> 00:06:58,835 I basically just look around. 149 00:06:58,919 --> 00:07:01,004 And for me, that involves, of course, 150 00:07:01,087 --> 00:07:04,966 using my sense of echolocation 151 00:07:05,008 --> 00:07:07,302 to scope out the environment. 152 00:07:07,385 --> 00:07:09,888 I start out with what's most distinctive, 153 00:07:09,971 --> 00:07:12,724 what stands out, uh, what's most unique, 154 00:07:12,807 --> 00:07:15,936 uh, what seems to define the space. 155 00:07:16,019 --> 00:07:21,066 Essentially, it resolves into what I call three‐dimensional, 156 00:07:21,149 --> 00:07:22,108 fuzzy geometry. 157 00:07:22,192 --> 00:07:24,235 So all of these features 158 00:07:24,319 --> 00:07:27,989 sort of coalesce into an actual image. 159 00:07:29,366 --> 00:07:32,661 Mapping it is part of the process. 160 00:07:32,744 --> 00:07:36,289 Drawing is a way of sharing 161 00:07:36,373 --> 00:07:38,875 what my relationship with the environment is. 162 00:07:38,959 --> 00:07:40,502 It's a way of... 163 00:07:40,585 --> 00:07:44,464 giving people a peek into my head. 164 00:07:45,340 --> 00:07:47,550 So, you've got a house here. 165 00:07:47,634 --> 00:07:49,636 That's the most relevant feature. 166 00:07:49,678 --> 00:07:52,138 There's a parked vehicle of some kind there. 167 00:07:52,222 --> 00:07:53,848 And, then, trees. 168 00:07:53,932 --> 00:07:58,478 And then, just as I got to about here, 169 00:07:58,561 --> 00:08:00,355 I was able immediately to tell, 170 00:08:00,438 --> 00:08:03,149 okay, this has got to be some sort of a patio area, 171 00:08:03,233 --> 00:08:04,693 or maybe a grotto. 172 00:08:04,776 --> 00:08:07,570 And then, as I rounded the area, 173 00:08:07,654 --> 00:08:10,323 this tree line became very obvious, 174 00:08:10,365 --> 00:08:13,743 that bounds one edge of the garden. 175 00:08:13,827 --> 00:08:15,829 Daniel often says that, you know, 176 00:08:15,912 --> 00:08:18,999 he can see these things in his mind, 177 00:08:19,040 --> 00:08:21,459 and skeptics would say, "Oh, that's impossible, 178 00:08:21,543 --> 00:08:23,878 "he must be hearing sounds or just making calculations 179 00:08:23,962 --> 00:08:26,297 and guesses that just happen to be true." 180 00:08:26,339 --> 00:08:28,466 But he's actually able to prove it. 181 00:08:28,508 --> 00:08:32,554 He's actually able to draw what he sees in his mind. 182 00:08:33,513 --> 00:08:35,724 And it's accurate. 183 00:08:37,892 --> 00:08:42,063 KISH: I am a person who is naturally curious. 184 00:08:42,147 --> 00:08:45,191 I've been an explorer since I got out of my crib 185 00:08:45,275 --> 00:08:46,943 and started wandering around. 186 00:08:47,027 --> 00:08:49,446 It didn't really occur to me that, "Oh, but wait, 187 00:08:49,529 --> 00:08:51,614 I no longer have eyes." 188 00:08:51,698 --> 00:08:55,702 My interest is in understanding the world, 189 00:08:55,785 --> 00:08:57,662 knowing about the world, 190 00:08:57,746 --> 00:08:59,998 and sharing whatever it is 191 00:09:00,081 --> 00:09:02,959 I think I've learned about the world with others, 192 00:09:03,043 --> 00:09:06,671 to the extent that others may benefit from that. 193 00:09:06,755 --> 00:09:09,215 It's not about seeing or not seeing. 194 00:09:09,299 --> 00:09:11,426 It's about knowing. 195 00:09:11,509 --> 00:09:14,763 It's about understanding, and it's about sharing. 196 00:09:14,846 --> 00:09:16,806 SHATNER: Daniel's incredible ability 197 00:09:16,890 --> 00:09:18,683 to make his way through the world 198 00:09:18,767 --> 00:09:20,643 is truly a sight to behold. 199 00:09:20,727 --> 00:09:23,396 But how did he develop such an unusual 200 00:09:23,480 --> 00:09:26,191 and powerful sensory ability? 201 00:09:26,274 --> 00:09:28,234 Perhaps a clue can be found 202 00:09:28,318 --> 00:09:29,861 by examining a group of people 203 00:09:29,944 --> 00:09:34,032 who can literally hear the world around them 204 00:09:34,115 --> 00:09:35,784 in color. 205 00:09:40,288 --> 00:09:43,249 RICHARD CYTOWIC: We sense the world 206 00:09:43,333 --> 00:09:46,586 where color has a sound, 207 00:09:46,669 --> 00:09:49,255 and where sound has a taste. 208 00:09:49,339 --> 00:09:50,715 If that all seems bizarre, 209 00:09:50,799 --> 00:09:52,717 well, then imagine what it must be like 210 00:09:52,801 --> 00:09:54,719 to live in that world 211 00:09:54,803 --> 00:09:57,263 every day of your life. 212 00:09:59,432 --> 00:10:01,601 ♪ ♪ 213 00:10:02,769 --> 00:10:06,564 Tofino, British Columbia, August 1998. 214 00:10:07,732 --> 00:10:09,984 55‐year‐old Carol Steen and her husband 215 00:10:10,068 --> 00:10:12,821 are hiking along the shores of the Pacific. 216 00:10:12,862 --> 00:10:16,533 It's a day like any other. 217 00:10:16,616 --> 00:10:20,578 That is, until Carol takes one wrong step. 218 00:10:22,288 --> 00:10:25,959 There were all these black boulders, they were huge, 219 00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:28,503 and we were kind of crawling around on them. 220 00:10:28,586 --> 00:10:31,172 My husband, being athletic, 221 00:10:31,256 --> 00:10:35,135 decided that he would jump off this rock. 222 00:10:35,218 --> 00:10:37,303 I did the same thing. 223 00:10:38,763 --> 00:10:42,976 And I did something very bad to my knee. 224 00:10:43,059 --> 00:10:45,562 I ruptured the ACL. 225 00:10:47,230 --> 00:10:50,150 SHATNER: Tearing an ACL is a traumatic injury, 226 00:10:50,275 --> 00:10:52,068 even for professional athletes. 227 00:10:52,152 --> 00:10:55,864 And yet, for Carol, the first thing she experienced 228 00:10:55,989 --> 00:10:58,658 wasn't a sensation of pain 229 00:10:58,741 --> 00:11:00,827 but one of color. 230 00:11:00,869 --> 00:11:03,830 (woman breathing heavily) 231 00:11:03,955 --> 00:11:05,957 STEEN: I didn't feel pain. 232 00:11:06,040 --> 00:11:08,835 Instead, everything that I saw was orange, 233 00:11:08,918 --> 00:11:11,796 and this was with my eyes open. 234 00:11:11,880 --> 00:11:15,508 The sand was a lighter shade of orange. 235 00:11:15,592 --> 00:11:18,678 The ocean was another shade of orange, 236 00:11:18,761 --> 00:11:21,139 and the blur of orange was my husband, 237 00:11:21,181 --> 00:11:23,391 and he said, "I'll get you up on some rocks, 238 00:11:23,474 --> 00:11:24,767 and I'll go get help." 239 00:11:24,851 --> 00:11:27,353 SHATNER: It may seem odd, 240 00:11:27,437 --> 00:11:30,607 but this is just one example of Carol's senses mixing 241 00:11:30,690 --> 00:11:32,984 that she has dealt with for years. 242 00:11:33,067 --> 00:11:35,612 And it's an extraordinarily rare condition 243 00:11:35,695 --> 00:11:39,657 that scientists refer to as synesthesia. 244 00:11:42,410 --> 00:11:44,954 Synesthesia is often described 245 00:11:45,038 --> 00:11:48,583 as an unusual union of the senses. 246 00:11:48,666 --> 00:11:50,919 Perceptions that we tend to have separate‐‐ 247 00:11:51,002 --> 00:11:56,132 like sounds versus sights versus touches versus smells‐‐ 248 00:11:56,174 --> 00:12:01,304 get sort of combined in ways that are unusual. 249 00:12:01,387 --> 00:12:04,933 They've identified at least 70 different forms 250 00:12:05,016 --> 00:12:06,643 of synesthesia. 251 00:12:06,726 --> 00:12:08,937 The common forms would be people 252 00:12:09,020 --> 00:12:12,315 who can hear color and see sound. 253 00:12:12,440 --> 00:12:16,819 There are two ways that we can perceive these joined senses. 254 00:12:16,903 --> 00:12:19,822 90% of us see it in our mind's eye, 255 00:12:19,906 --> 00:12:23,409 and that's the same place where you watch your daydreams. 256 00:12:23,493 --> 00:12:25,119 And ten percent of us 257 00:12:25,203 --> 00:12:29,165 see it actually projected out there in front of us. 258 00:12:29,249 --> 00:12:30,833 (laughter) 259 00:12:30,959 --> 00:12:32,210 SHATNER: Hearing color? 260 00:12:32,335 --> 00:12:34,087 ‐Seeing sound? ‐(violins playing lively tune) 261 00:12:34,170 --> 00:12:36,631 What a marvelously strange ability. 262 00:12:36,714 --> 00:12:39,801 And yet, it's something that almost all of us do, 263 00:12:39,926 --> 00:12:42,804 although to a much lesser extent. 264 00:12:42,887 --> 00:12:45,932 CYTOWIC: We're all synesthetes. 265 00:12:46,015 --> 00:12:47,642 There are cross‐connections 266 00:12:47,767 --> 00:12:49,644 going on in all of us, except 267 00:12:49,727 --> 00:12:51,187 we're not consciously aware of them. 268 00:12:51,271 --> 00:12:54,315 And so, what makes synesthetes different is 269 00:12:54,357 --> 00:12:58,152 that they simply have more cross‐connections 270 00:12:58,278 --> 00:12:59,529 than you or I do, 271 00:12:59,612 --> 00:13:01,823 and they are also consciously aware 272 00:13:01,906 --> 00:13:03,449 that they have them. 273 00:13:05,201 --> 00:13:07,662 SHATNER: In extreme cases of synesthesia, 274 00:13:07,745 --> 00:13:09,831 a person, like Mississippi native 275 00:13:09,914 --> 00:13:12,208 Lidell Simpson, for example, 276 00:13:12,292 --> 00:13:14,043 can be born deaf and yet 277 00:13:14,127 --> 00:13:17,171 somehow still be able to hear sounds. 278 00:13:34,772 --> 00:13:37,025 (pinging slowly and rhythmically) 279 00:13:46,200 --> 00:13:48,161 (pinging) 280 00:14:49,764 --> 00:14:52,475 (clacking, whirring) 281 00:15:56,164 --> 00:15:58,332 (sound of glass shattering) 282 00:16:24,609 --> 00:16:27,987 Lidell is hearing the same way that you and I do. 283 00:16:28,070 --> 00:16:30,156 It's just that his auditory cortex 284 00:16:30,239 --> 00:16:33,159 is being stimulated not through the eardrum 285 00:16:33,201 --> 00:16:35,495 but through other senses. 286 00:16:35,578 --> 00:16:36,996 (pinging and whooshing) 287 00:16:37,038 --> 00:16:39,207 It's like, well, suppose a blind person said to you, 288 00:16:39,290 --> 00:16:41,334 "Oh, you poor thing. Everywhere you look, 289 00:16:41,375 --> 00:16:43,044 "you're always seeing things. 290 00:16:43,127 --> 00:16:45,963 Doesn't it drive you crazy having to see everything?" 291 00:16:46,047 --> 00:16:48,049 And of course not, because 292 00:16:48,174 --> 00:16:50,593 seeing is the normal texture of our reality. 293 00:16:50,676 --> 00:16:54,805 Synesthetes simply have a different texture of reality 294 00:16:54,847 --> 00:16:57,016 and different point of view. 295 00:16:58,392 --> 00:17:01,312 Lidell is a fantastic example of brain plasticity. 296 00:17:01,437 --> 00:17:04,148 I mean, when you think about an individual that's deaf 297 00:17:04,232 --> 00:17:06,067 and has this large region of the brain 298 00:17:06,150 --> 00:17:07,777 that's no longer processing sound, 299 00:17:07,860 --> 00:17:09,654 the fact that these other modalities 300 00:17:09,695 --> 00:17:11,239 have basically set up camp 301 00:17:11,322 --> 00:17:13,824 in what would normally be his auditory cortex 302 00:17:13,908 --> 00:17:16,118 is really phenomenal. 303 00:17:16,202 --> 00:17:18,329 In most instances of synesthesia, 304 00:17:18,412 --> 00:17:20,331 there's some mixing of the senses, 305 00:17:20,414 --> 00:17:24,961 but it doesn't necessarily involve all the senses. 306 00:17:25,002 --> 00:17:27,088 For Lidell, he seems 307 00:17:27,171 --> 00:17:32,802 to conjure this rich, very complex auditory scene 308 00:17:32,885 --> 00:17:36,138 out of all the things that he encounters. 309 00:17:36,222 --> 00:17:38,057 When we think about people with synesthesia, 310 00:17:38,140 --> 00:17:39,684 um, I think one of the reasons 311 00:17:39,767 --> 00:17:42,353 why people with normal sensory systems find them so interesting 312 00:17:42,436 --> 00:17:44,855 is because they're clearly having experiences 313 00:17:44,939 --> 00:17:46,482 that we'll never have. 314 00:17:46,566 --> 00:17:49,443 And trying to understand how they're experiencing the world 315 00:17:49,527 --> 00:17:51,654 through somebody else's eyes and ears 316 00:17:51,696 --> 00:17:54,156 is always really interesting to think about. 317 00:17:54,282 --> 00:17:57,159 Synesthesia shows that we sense the world 318 00:17:57,201 --> 00:18:00,162 in a much more integrated way than we think we do. 319 00:18:02,248 --> 00:18:04,166 SHATNER: Synesthesia reminds us 320 00:18:04,292 --> 00:18:06,419 of the brain's extraordinary ability 321 00:18:06,502 --> 00:18:10,089 to process data in a most unconventional way. 322 00:18:11,132 --> 00:18:12,967 Such is the case of one man 323 00:18:13,050 --> 00:18:15,761 whose sensory condition sounds like a dream 324 00:18:15,845 --> 00:18:17,972 but can, at times, 325 00:18:18,014 --> 00:18:19,682 be a nightmare. 326 00:18:28,983 --> 00:18:31,027 JOHN WOOD: Pain38‐year‐old Steven Peteharm: 327 00:18:31,110 --> 00:18:34,155 attends to his Sunday chores, like yard work 328 00:18:34,196 --> 00:18:36,407 and cooking and tinkering 329 00:18:36,490 --> 00:18:38,868 with several projects in his basement. 330 00:18:38,993 --> 00:18:41,662 All the same things that any person might do on a weekend. 331 00:18:41,746 --> 00:18:46,334 But for Steven, he has to do all this far more carefully 332 00:18:46,417 --> 00:18:49,170 than the average person, because for him, 333 00:18:49,253 --> 00:18:53,924 doing household chores is more than just a series of tasks. 334 00:18:54,008 --> 00:18:55,635 It's actually dangerous. 335 00:18:55,676 --> 00:18:57,553 PETE: I was born 336 00:18:57,637 --> 00:19:00,431 with a rare genetic condition called congenital analgesia. 337 00:19:00,514 --> 00:19:03,017 At the time, that was the name given to it. 338 00:19:03,100 --> 00:19:05,811 Now it's called congenital insensitivity to pain. 339 00:19:05,895 --> 00:19:10,066 So, uh, I can't feel any pain at all. 340 00:19:10,149 --> 00:19:13,486 SHATNER: A life free of pain? 341 00:19:13,527 --> 00:19:16,656 Sounds like something many of us would pay dearly for. 342 00:19:16,739 --> 00:19:19,325 But for people like Steven, 343 00:19:19,408 --> 00:19:22,536 death or severe injury lurks 344 00:19:22,620 --> 00:19:25,122 around every corner. 345 00:19:25,206 --> 00:19:27,416 PETE: My parents first noticed 346 00:19:27,500 --> 00:19:29,335 something was different when I was teething 347 00:19:29,418 --> 00:19:31,837 and I chewed off half my tongue. 348 00:19:31,921 --> 00:19:35,800 That definitely alarmed them to, uh, something serious going on, 349 00:19:35,883 --> 00:19:37,468 so they took me to my pediatrician, 350 00:19:37,551 --> 00:19:40,763 who, uh, did a couple of tests and determined 351 00:19:40,846 --> 00:19:43,974 that, more than likely, I didn't feel pain. 352 00:19:44,058 --> 00:19:46,102 They ran needles up and down my spine, 353 00:19:46,185 --> 00:19:48,646 uh, poked my feet a couple places. 354 00:19:48,771 --> 00:19:53,359 I still didn't elicit a negative response, a painful response. 355 00:19:53,442 --> 00:19:56,654 SHATNER: Steven's gruesome injury provides a stark reminder 356 00:19:56,779 --> 00:20:00,157 that while most people probably don't think of pain as a sense, 357 00:20:00,199 --> 00:20:02,368 it may actually be 358 00:20:02,451 --> 00:20:04,537 the important sense of all. 359 00:20:04,620 --> 00:20:08,165 WOOD: Congenital analgesia is 360 00:20:08,207 --> 00:20:11,210 an inherited form of insensitivity to pain. 361 00:20:11,293 --> 00:20:13,129 "Congenital" means it runs in the family, 362 00:20:13,254 --> 00:20:15,256 and "analgesia" means that you don't feel pain. 363 00:20:15,339 --> 00:20:18,342 You have no feeling of pain whatsoever. 364 00:20:18,426 --> 00:20:20,928 It's some form of mutation in a gene 365 00:20:21,011 --> 00:20:23,264 that's essential for pain perception. 366 00:20:23,347 --> 00:20:25,808 When people first hear that I don't feel pain, 367 00:20:25,850 --> 00:20:28,310 they think it is the greatest thing in the whole world. 368 00:20:28,352 --> 00:20:29,729 They're like, "Wow, you got a superpower." 369 00:20:29,854 --> 00:20:33,190 But my childhood was spending good chunks of time 370 00:20:33,274 --> 00:20:34,817 in the hospital. 371 00:20:34,900 --> 00:20:37,653 I'd stay anywhere between, like, four months 372 00:20:37,737 --> 00:20:41,866 to maybe a year and a half, which isn't normal. 373 00:20:41,991 --> 00:20:45,828 WOOD: It's an extremely problematic condition. 374 00:20:45,870 --> 00:20:48,080 Pain protects us from self‐harm, 375 00:20:48,164 --> 00:20:50,374 and it's often the first sign of disease. 376 00:20:50,499 --> 00:20:53,002 So people who are pain‐free often die very young. 377 00:20:53,085 --> 00:20:55,129 DENNIN: It's actually rather amazing 378 00:20:55,212 --> 00:20:57,173 that he's made it 379 00:20:57,256 --> 00:20:59,300 through life as far as he has. 380 00:20:59,341 --> 00:21:00,634 I mean, the classic example 381 00:21:00,718 --> 00:21:02,303 we would always hear about is learning 382 00:21:02,386 --> 00:21:04,430 not to touch things that are hot. 383 00:21:04,513 --> 00:21:06,515 Pain alerts us when we're doing something in the external world 384 00:21:06,640 --> 00:21:08,184 that doesn't make sense and we should stop. 385 00:21:10,728 --> 00:21:14,064 PETE: The one thing that I really have to keep an eye on 386 00:21:14,148 --> 00:21:15,733 is probably whenever I'm engaged 387 00:21:15,858 --> 00:21:18,944 in, like, a physical activity that's a little bit strenuous, 388 00:21:19,028 --> 00:21:20,488 like doing yard work. 389 00:21:20,529 --> 00:21:23,824 It's stuff like that, where I could injure myself 390 00:21:23,908 --> 00:21:25,993 and not immediately realize it, 391 00:21:26,035 --> 00:21:29,497 that could cause serious repercussions down the road. 392 00:21:29,622 --> 00:21:31,665 DENNIN: When we think about senses, 393 00:21:31,749 --> 00:21:34,293 we always think about the classic five senses: 394 00:21:34,335 --> 00:21:35,878 sight, touch, 395 00:21:35,961 --> 00:21:37,630 smell, taste and hearing. 396 00:21:37,671 --> 00:21:39,799 One thing that's really interesting, though, 397 00:21:39,840 --> 00:21:42,218 is, we basically have another sense, 398 00:21:42,301 --> 00:21:44,637 which is our pain, our sense of pain. 399 00:21:44,720 --> 00:21:47,807 We often just reject that as, well, that's just touch. 400 00:21:47,932 --> 00:21:50,226 But that negates or doesn't think 401 00:21:50,309 --> 00:21:51,977 about the internal pains we often feel, 402 00:21:52,061 --> 00:21:53,771 whether it's headaches or stomachaches 403 00:21:53,854 --> 00:21:57,733 or sore muscles, which really isn't quite touch. 404 00:21:57,817 --> 00:21:59,151 Pain is another sense. 405 00:21:59,276 --> 00:22:01,779 It's a sense that we call nociception. 406 00:22:01,862 --> 00:22:04,824 It's conveyed by specific kinds of nerves 407 00:22:04,865 --> 00:22:07,159 that get activated when, for instance, 408 00:22:07,243 --> 00:22:11,163 we might touch a hot stove or cut ourselves. 409 00:22:11,247 --> 00:22:12,581 WOOD: What's interesting is, 410 00:22:12,706 --> 00:22:15,960 the brain can regulate pain dramatically, 411 00:22:16,043 --> 00:22:18,337 but the basic drive that causes pain 412 00:22:18,420 --> 00:22:20,297 is from the peripheral nerves. 413 00:22:20,339 --> 00:22:22,925 The nerves that send information into the brain 414 00:22:23,008 --> 00:22:26,262 don't work in congenital analgesia patients. 415 00:22:26,345 --> 00:22:29,682 This loss of pain is caused by malfunctions 416 00:22:29,807 --> 00:22:32,643 in a very small number of genes that are extremely rare. 417 00:22:32,726 --> 00:22:34,937 One of them is involved in signaling 418 00:22:35,020 --> 00:22:36,188 in the peripheral nerves. 419 00:22:36,313 --> 00:22:37,648 It's called Nav1.7. 420 00:22:37,690 --> 00:22:39,942 It's a protein that's called a sodium channel. 421 00:22:40,025 --> 00:22:41,402 It's like an electrical switch. 422 00:22:41,485 --> 00:22:43,612 And if that protein doesn't function properly, 423 00:22:43,696 --> 00:22:45,865 then you can become pain‐free. 424 00:22:48,576 --> 00:22:50,870 SHATNER: Since Steven doesn't feel pain, 425 00:22:50,953 --> 00:22:52,580 it begs the question: 426 00:22:52,663 --> 00:22:54,790 what does he feel instead? 427 00:22:54,874 --> 00:22:57,960 PETE: It's difficult for me to try to explain, but even though 428 00:22:58,043 --> 00:23:01,046 I don't feel physical pain, what I can feel is 429 00:23:01,171 --> 00:23:03,173 heat, cold, 430 00:23:03,257 --> 00:23:05,301 touch, just like every other person. 431 00:23:05,384 --> 00:23:10,139 What I do feel is probably a byproduct of pain, 432 00:23:10,180 --> 00:23:14,143 is, like, these impulses, almost like a nerve firing. 433 00:23:14,226 --> 00:23:16,312 Since 2012, 434 00:23:16,395 --> 00:23:18,355 I have had the opportunity to be able to participate 435 00:23:18,480 --> 00:23:21,025 in a couple studies with different universities. 436 00:23:21,150 --> 00:23:24,987 I spent a good portion of my childhood in the hospital, 437 00:23:25,070 --> 00:23:26,572 and during those stays 438 00:23:26,655 --> 00:23:29,450 it was usually with people who felt pain, 439 00:23:29,533 --> 00:23:31,744 and seeing people, 440 00:23:31,827 --> 00:23:33,329 especially that young, who are going 441 00:23:33,370 --> 00:23:35,247 through such painful experiences, 442 00:23:35,372 --> 00:23:37,875 um, that's really what prompted me to sign up 443 00:23:37,958 --> 00:23:40,336 for a lot of these studies when I was approached. 444 00:23:40,461 --> 00:23:44,590 And the overall goal in a lot of these studies is 445 00:23:44,673 --> 00:23:46,759 to try to create a nonnarcotic painkiller, 446 00:23:46,842 --> 00:23:49,970 because the opioid crisis that our country is facing 447 00:23:50,012 --> 00:23:54,058 is one that other nations are facing as well. 448 00:23:54,141 --> 00:23:55,643 So I've been asked quite a lot, 449 00:23:55,684 --> 00:23:57,645 with all these studies I've been participating in, 450 00:23:57,686 --> 00:23:59,647 if I had the chance to feel pain, 451 00:23:59,730 --> 00:24:01,649 if they could figure out what activates 452 00:24:01,774 --> 00:24:03,275 or deactivates that switch, 453 00:24:03,359 --> 00:24:05,486 would I myself want to feel pain? 454 00:24:05,569 --> 00:24:07,988 Um, and my answer is just no. 455 00:24:08,072 --> 00:24:11,367 Um, and that's only because I've damaged my body so much 456 00:24:11,450 --> 00:24:12,660 throughout my entire life that, 457 00:24:12,701 --> 00:24:14,161 if I were to feel pain right now, 458 00:24:14,203 --> 00:24:16,997 I'd just be in a constant state of pain all the time. 459 00:24:17,081 --> 00:24:18,958 Not only do I have a bad knee, 460 00:24:19,041 --> 00:24:21,502 uh, but my back is a little bit messed up, 461 00:24:21,585 --> 00:24:23,003 so my quality of life 462 00:24:23,087 --> 00:24:24,463 would just be low, 463 00:24:24,505 --> 00:24:27,383 and there's no way I could live like that. 464 00:24:28,300 --> 00:24:30,511 Pain. 465 00:24:30,594 --> 00:24:34,348 As devastating as it can be, it is clearly one of the senses 466 00:24:34,431 --> 00:24:37,309 we shouldn't be so eager to live without. 467 00:24:37,434 --> 00:24:40,562 But if our sense of pain can be diminished, 468 00:24:40,688 --> 00:24:44,108 might it be possible for our other senses 469 00:24:44,191 --> 00:24:47,152 to be enhanced? 470 00:24:47,277 --> 00:24:49,321 Perhaps the answer can be found 471 00:24:49,363 --> 00:24:51,824 by examining the story of a young man 472 00:24:51,865 --> 00:24:56,328 whose musical abilities could be said to rival those 473 00:24:56,370 --> 00:24:58,205 of a Beethoven. 474 00:25:05,254 --> 00:25:07,381 ADAM OCKELFORD: He was only five years old, and already 475 00:25:07,464 --> 00:25:09,091 is in the middle of a lesson, 476 00:25:09,174 --> 00:25:12,803 when a blind five‐year‐old boy bursts through the door 477 00:25:12,845 --> 00:25:16,056 and changes Adam's life forever. 478 00:25:17,057 --> 00:25:20,644 I first met Derek 35 years ago. 479 00:25:20,728 --> 00:25:22,771 And this totally blind little boy 480 00:25:22,855 --> 00:25:24,606 was desperate to get at the piano. 481 00:25:24,690 --> 00:25:27,359 And he just pushed us out of the way and got playing. 482 00:25:27,484 --> 00:25:28,485 And I thought, 483 00:25:28,610 --> 00:25:29,695 "God, he's mad." 484 00:25:29,778 --> 00:25:31,989 You know, there were notes flying everywhere. 485 00:25:32,072 --> 00:25:34,992 But he was playing "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina," 486 00:25:35,075 --> 00:25:38,495 but with lots of scales and arpeggios and chords. 487 00:25:38,620 --> 00:25:39,830 And I suddenly thought, wow, 488 00:25:39,913 --> 00:25:41,832 you know, he's not mad, he's a genius. 489 00:25:41,915 --> 00:25:44,752 When I first tried to teach Derek, 490 00:25:44,835 --> 00:25:48,130 it turned out he could just play any tune that I named. 491 00:25:48,172 --> 00:25:50,883 He was only five years old, and already in his head 492 00:25:50,966 --> 00:25:55,137 he clearly had thousands of songs already memorized. 493 00:25:55,220 --> 00:25:56,972 Derek was born very premature, 494 00:25:57,014 --> 00:25:59,850 and he had to have a lot of oxygen to keep him alive. 495 00:25:59,933 --> 00:26:01,852 And we know from modern neuroscience 496 00:26:01,935 --> 00:26:04,605 that doing that to a brain causes it to grow 497 00:26:04,688 --> 00:26:06,315 in a slightly different way, 498 00:26:06,398 --> 00:26:08,150 to wire itself up in a different way. 499 00:26:08,192 --> 00:26:11,653 The thing with teaching autistic children like Derek 500 00:26:11,695 --> 00:26:13,989 is to form a relationship with them. 501 00:26:14,073 --> 00:26:15,532 He's got to trust you. 502 00:26:15,616 --> 00:26:17,659 He's almost got to love you, really, as a little boy. 503 00:26:17,701 --> 00:26:20,245 It's almost like a parent‐child relationship. 504 00:26:20,329 --> 00:26:22,539 (playing mid‐tempo song) 505 00:26:22,623 --> 00:26:25,876 So he'll trust you to take him into new territories 506 00:26:25,959 --> 00:26:29,880 that he doesn't necessarily feel comfortable with. 507 00:26:29,963 --> 00:26:33,008 It's got to be a human relationship. 508 00:26:33,133 --> 00:26:34,968 ♪ ♪ 509 00:26:35,052 --> 00:26:37,429 TERRY WOGAN: He's making it up as he went along. That's terrific. 510 00:26:37,513 --> 00:26:40,307 (applause) 511 00:26:40,349 --> 00:26:42,017 Brilliant! 512 00:26:42,101 --> 00:26:43,977 What a great gift and what a, what a great talent, 513 00:26:44,061 --> 00:26:46,438 and it's something for you to be very proud of. 514 00:26:46,522 --> 00:26:48,482 Derek Paravicini. 515 00:26:48,565 --> 00:26:50,526 (applause) 516 00:26:50,651 --> 00:26:52,778 SHATNER: Over the next 35 years, 517 00:26:52,861 --> 00:26:56,990 Adam worked closely with Derek to hone his natural abilities. 518 00:26:57,032 --> 00:26:58,575 The result... 519 00:27:03,372 --> 00:27:06,834 Derek is not only a world‐ renowned professional pianist 520 00:27:06,917 --> 00:27:08,794 but someone whom scientists believe 521 00:27:08,877 --> 00:27:10,963 may be among a rare group of humans 522 00:27:11,004 --> 00:27:14,675 who possess the most finely developed sense of hearing 523 00:27:14,758 --> 00:27:16,135 in the world. 524 00:27:16,176 --> 00:27:17,636 Ah! 525 00:27:17,719 --> 00:27:18,846 (music ends) 526 00:27:18,971 --> 00:27:21,098 ‐Well done, Derek. ‐Yay. Thank you. 527 00:27:21,181 --> 00:27:23,642 OCKELFORD: The whole of Derek's musical ability 528 00:27:23,725 --> 00:27:25,018 is really founded on one thing, 529 00:27:25,102 --> 00:27:27,104 which is that his hearing is so acute, 530 00:27:27,187 --> 00:27:30,482 he can hear tiny differences in notes 531 00:27:30,607 --> 00:27:31,900 that most people can't. 532 00:27:32,025 --> 00:27:33,777 And Derek can remember them as well. 533 00:27:33,861 --> 00:27:35,737 Derek, shall we play our copy game? 534 00:27:35,863 --> 00:27:38,157 We'll play our copy game, please, Adam. 535 00:27:38,282 --> 00:27:41,326 Perfect pitch is really rare amongst people as a whole. 536 00:27:41,410 --> 00:27:45,164 Probably about one in 10,000 people have perfect pitch. 537 00:27:45,205 --> 00:27:48,000 But Derek has kind of perfect pitch‐plus. 538 00:27:48,041 --> 00:27:49,960 Play this note, exactly as it is. Ready? 539 00:27:50,002 --> 00:27:51,795 ‐(strikes note) ‐(strikes same note) 540 00:27:51,879 --> 00:27:54,298 So I can play one note, say F‐sharp, 541 00:27:54,381 --> 00:27:55,632 and Derek instantly hears it. 542 00:27:55,674 --> 00:27:56,800 You know exactly which one it is, don't you? 543 00:27:56,884 --> 00:27:59,970 ‐I do. ‐What if I play two notes? 544 00:28:02,514 --> 00:28:03,682 But there's more to it than that, 545 00:28:03,765 --> 00:28:05,350 'cause if he hears two notes, 546 00:28:05,434 --> 00:28:07,060 or three notes, even ten notes, 547 00:28:07,186 --> 00:28:09,188 ‐all at the same time... ‐Four notes. 548 00:28:09,271 --> 00:28:11,481 instantly, Derek can hear it. 549 00:28:11,523 --> 00:28:12,858 Uh, seven notes. 550 00:28:14,109 --> 00:28:16,236 In fact, we've done tests with him, 551 00:28:16,320 --> 00:28:18,322 and he can hear ten notes. 552 00:28:18,363 --> 00:28:21,408 And he processes them in less than half a second. 553 00:28:21,491 --> 00:28:22,743 Yeah. 554 00:28:22,826 --> 00:28:25,412 (Ockelford playing note clusters and Derek imitating them) 555 00:28:25,495 --> 00:28:28,665 Every day I sit down and we start to play, and I think, 556 00:28:28,749 --> 00:28:30,667 "How did you do that?" And that, to me, 557 00:28:30,751 --> 00:28:32,961 is what keeps it interesting, because 558 00:28:33,045 --> 00:28:38,008 musicians give me a window into the brain that's unique. 559 00:28:38,091 --> 00:28:40,135 We have developed tools and research 560 00:28:40,219 --> 00:28:43,805 to try to infer about what happens in someone's brain. 561 00:28:43,889 --> 00:28:46,433 But I have personally been involved 562 00:28:46,516 --> 00:28:49,519 in measuring Derek's ability, 563 00:28:49,603 --> 00:28:52,940 and I can very confidently say 564 00:28:53,023 --> 00:28:56,401 that I have exhausted our technological means 565 00:28:56,485 --> 00:28:57,986 to actually try to develop 566 00:28:58,111 --> 00:29:01,823 a test that could measure Derek's ability. 567 00:29:02,866 --> 00:29:04,826 Some people say that Derek's abilities 568 00:29:04,868 --> 00:29:06,787 are almost superhuman, but I would say 569 00:29:06,870 --> 00:29:08,956 that it's much more sophisticated than that. 570 00:29:09,039 --> 00:29:11,500 (playing "When the Saints Go Marching In") 571 00:29:11,583 --> 00:29:14,461 Not only can he unpack tens, 572 00:29:14,544 --> 00:29:16,797 dozens, hundreds of pitches; 573 00:29:16,880 --> 00:29:19,132 he can make musical sense of them, 574 00:29:19,216 --> 00:29:21,176 and that's something that only Derek can do. 575 00:29:21,260 --> 00:29:24,513 I have not come across any piece of technology that can do that. 576 00:29:24,596 --> 00:29:26,640 SHATNER: While Derek has set a new bar 577 00:29:26,723 --> 00:29:27,975 for hearing aptitude, 578 00:29:28,058 --> 00:29:30,477 it appears that his heightened sense 579 00:29:30,519 --> 00:29:32,688 is not without its downsides. 580 00:29:32,771 --> 00:29:36,692 Because, as superhuman as Derek's hearing is, 581 00:29:36,775 --> 00:29:39,987 the rest of his mind seems to have paid a price. 582 00:29:40,028 --> 00:29:41,822 ‐Yay! ‐Well done, Derek! 583 00:29:41,863 --> 00:29:44,616 ‐You enjoy that? ‐Yay. Enjoyed that, Adam! 584 00:29:44,700 --> 00:29:47,286 ‐Yay! Good session? ‐Good session. 585 00:29:47,369 --> 00:29:50,247 The thing with Derek's abilities, they come at a cost. 586 00:29:50,330 --> 00:29:53,166 They come at a cost of understanding language, 587 00:29:53,208 --> 00:29:58,130 of being able to sustain himself independently, 588 00:29:58,213 --> 00:30:00,799 being able to function independently. 589 00:30:00,882 --> 00:30:04,303 Derek is almost like Alice in the looking glass. 590 00:30:04,386 --> 00:30:05,429 Everything is reversed. 591 00:30:05,512 --> 00:30:06,972 So really complicated things 592 00:30:07,055 --> 00:30:08,807 that most people would find impossible, 593 00:30:08,890 --> 00:30:10,517 like a whole piece of music, 594 00:30:10,600 --> 00:30:12,394 go straight into his long‐term memory. 595 00:30:12,477 --> 00:30:15,314 Really easy things, like "what did you have for lunch today," 596 00:30:15,397 --> 00:30:16,982 just don't stick. 597 00:30:17,024 --> 00:30:19,526 And that's the extraordinary enigma of Derek. 598 00:30:20,569 --> 00:30:22,738 SHATNER: But what is it 599 00:30:22,821 --> 00:30:25,157 that gives Derek his extraordinary ability? 600 00:30:25,198 --> 00:30:28,994 Is it simply his means of compensating for his blindness? 601 00:30:29,036 --> 00:30:32,331 Or is there something more to it than that? 602 00:30:32,372 --> 00:30:34,875 DENNIN: When we think about these cases, 603 00:30:34,958 --> 00:30:37,544 an obvious place to go is, oh, he's blind, 604 00:30:37,627 --> 00:30:40,881 so it's the lack of eyesight that is contributing to this. 605 00:30:41,006 --> 00:30:43,467 What I don't know, and I think people are still looking at is, 606 00:30:43,550 --> 00:30:45,135 is that something that happens 607 00:30:45,177 --> 00:30:47,596 sort of early on in the formation of the brain 608 00:30:47,679 --> 00:30:49,890 that's purely a function of, oh, 609 00:30:49,973 --> 00:30:52,100 the eyesight isn't really being connected? 610 00:30:52,184 --> 00:30:55,187 Or is it a process that happens more over time? 611 00:30:55,270 --> 00:30:57,314 Understanding what that connection is, I think, 612 00:30:57,356 --> 00:30:59,316 is a very deep and interesting question. 613 00:30:59,399 --> 00:31:03,320 LOMBER: I think, when you consider individuals that have 614 00:31:03,403 --> 00:31:06,031 a severely impaired sense, like blindness or deafness, 615 00:31:06,114 --> 00:31:08,241 they're gonna have a very different reality 616 00:31:08,367 --> 00:31:12,371 than people that have more or less intact senses. 617 00:31:12,496 --> 00:31:14,498 But don't think of it in terms just of the loss, 618 00:31:14,581 --> 00:31:16,958 but the fact that they're gonna have amplifications 619 00:31:17,000 --> 00:31:19,002 in their remaining intact senses. 620 00:31:19,086 --> 00:31:21,630 OCKELFORD: The great thing about Derek 621 00:31:21,713 --> 00:31:23,840 is Derek the person. 622 00:31:23,965 --> 00:31:26,927 He's so much more than a clever musician. 623 00:31:27,010 --> 00:31:29,304 Derek is above all a people person. 624 00:31:29,388 --> 00:31:32,557 So he makes his music for people. 625 00:31:32,641 --> 00:31:34,559 He'll remember people he meets 626 00:31:34,643 --> 00:31:36,561 in terms of the pieces they like. 627 00:31:36,645 --> 00:31:37,979 (playing lively tune) 628 00:31:38,105 --> 00:31:39,981 He may not remember the name, 629 00:31:40,107 --> 00:31:42,818 but he'll remember a particular piece of music 630 00:31:42,901 --> 00:31:47,239 they asked for, even ten or 20 years later. 631 00:31:49,658 --> 00:31:51,576 (song ends) 632 00:31:51,660 --> 00:31:54,871 (applause, cheering, whooping) 633 00:31:56,790 --> 00:32:00,585 Derek's gifts, while remarkable, remind us 634 00:32:00,669 --> 00:32:04,423 that enhanced abilities of all kinds 635 00:32:04,506 --> 00:32:06,174 often come at a cost. 636 00:32:06,258 --> 00:32:09,386 But is that always the case, or is it possible 637 00:32:09,469 --> 00:32:13,306 for us to unlock an unlimited number of sensory abilities 638 00:32:13,390 --> 00:32:15,142 that we have within us? 639 00:32:15,225 --> 00:32:18,353 Even those we don't even know we have? 640 00:32:26,611 --> 00:32:30,157 CARSHATNER:RY: Scientist Cornelia Fermuller 641 00:32:30,240 --> 00:32:33,118 publishes a study about how optical illusions 642 00:32:33,201 --> 00:32:37,414 expose a fundamental flaw in our brain. 643 00:32:37,497 --> 00:32:41,084 Even when we know our senses are being tricked, 644 00:32:41,168 --> 00:32:43,837 like when we look at an optical illusion, 645 00:32:43,920 --> 00:32:47,382 we are powerless to do anything about it. 646 00:32:47,466 --> 00:32:53,054 And the truth is, our eyes are deceiving us all the time. 647 00:32:54,681 --> 00:32:56,391 SETH: For me it's not so surprising 648 00:32:56,475 --> 00:33:00,812 that it's easy to fool our brains with optical illusions. 649 00:33:00,854 --> 00:33:04,649 Our brains are not designed to reflect reality as it is. 650 00:33:04,733 --> 00:33:07,235 They're designed to make the best use 651 00:33:07,319 --> 00:33:09,321 of these ambiguous sensory signals. 652 00:33:09,404 --> 00:33:12,491 HOFFMAN: We all have an experiential reality. 653 00:33:12,532 --> 00:33:14,659 We'll see a three‐dimensional world 654 00:33:14,743 --> 00:33:16,536 with objects and colors and shapes, 655 00:33:16,620 --> 00:33:18,580 we'll hear sounds, 656 00:33:18,663 --> 00:33:19,998 we'll taste things, 657 00:33:20,081 --> 00:33:21,500 we'll feel things, 658 00:33:21,541 --> 00:33:24,711 and that's our experiential reality. 659 00:33:24,794 --> 00:33:27,297 Now, most of us tend to think 660 00:33:27,380 --> 00:33:31,927 that our experiential reality is giving us a pretty clean map 661 00:33:32,010 --> 00:33:34,471 of what the objective reality is. 662 00:33:34,513 --> 00:33:38,350 But the probability that we have been shaped by evolution 663 00:33:38,433 --> 00:33:42,771 to have our experiential reality match any aspect 664 00:33:42,854 --> 00:33:46,816 of the objective reality is precisely zero. 665 00:33:46,858 --> 00:33:48,485 Instead, what evolution has done 666 00:33:48,527 --> 00:33:52,155 is given us a bunch of hacks so that you can survive. 667 00:33:52,197 --> 00:33:53,698 We're not tuned to the truth. 668 00:33:53,782 --> 00:33:55,659 We have simple tricks and hacks. 669 00:34:04,334 --> 00:34:06,419 Put your blindfolds on for me, please. 670 00:34:06,503 --> 00:34:09,047 SHATNER: A group of scientists have gathered to perform 671 00:34:09,130 --> 00:34:11,967 an intriguing experiment designed to find out 672 00:34:12,050 --> 00:34:14,970 whether children have sensory abilities beyond those 673 00:34:15,011 --> 00:34:16,805 we already know. 674 00:34:16,846 --> 00:34:18,640 These particular children 675 00:34:18,723 --> 00:34:23,270 seem to be able to do something that is unimaginable. 676 00:34:23,353 --> 00:34:27,983 Somehow, they can both read and identify objects 677 00:34:28,066 --> 00:34:29,818 while wearing a blindfold. 678 00:34:29,901 --> 00:34:31,361 Teacup. 679 00:34:32,988 --> 00:34:35,323 CORY: We came across a group of children 680 00:34:35,365 --> 00:34:38,827 who were able to read completely blindfolded. 681 00:34:38,868 --> 00:34:40,954 Of course, in the beginning, 682 00:34:41,037 --> 00:34:43,582 we said, "This is a trick. It's impossible." 683 00:34:45,208 --> 00:34:49,462 The visual system works with light. 684 00:34:50,589 --> 00:34:53,508 But when we were working with these children, you could 685 00:34:53,592 --> 00:34:56,553 literally give them a book that they have never read before, 686 00:34:56,636 --> 00:34:59,723 and they would put the blindfolds on, 687 00:34:59,806 --> 00:35:01,766 and eventually they could see. 688 00:35:01,850 --> 00:35:05,645 "Our day out is ruined. 689 00:35:05,687 --> 00:35:09,566 "No mouse would put a paw out 690 00:35:09,649 --> 00:35:11,818 in what‐‐ that weather." 691 00:35:11,860 --> 00:35:13,778 CORY: Somebody from the outside 692 00:35:13,862 --> 00:35:15,614 looking in would say, 693 00:35:15,697 --> 00:35:18,366 "What's going on here? This is impossible." 694 00:35:18,450 --> 00:35:20,493 But if that's possible, then 695 00:35:20,535 --> 00:35:22,162 what other abilities might we have 696 00:35:22,245 --> 00:35:25,332 that we're not even aware of yet? 697 00:35:25,373 --> 00:35:28,043 Tell me what I'm holding in my hand. 698 00:35:28,126 --> 00:35:30,170 A wooden spoon. 699 00:35:33,131 --> 00:35:35,884 So, we wanted to investigate this phenomenon. 700 00:35:35,967 --> 00:35:38,219 In 2018, 701 00:35:38,303 --> 00:35:41,598 we started to work with this Russian group. 702 00:35:41,681 --> 00:35:44,934 We worked with a couple of scientists, 703 00:35:45,018 --> 00:35:48,897 and they introduced a device inside the mask, 704 00:35:48,980 --> 00:35:54,611 uh, that measured the number of light photons inside the mask. 705 00:35:54,694 --> 00:35:58,156 Once the device showed that there was no light 706 00:35:58,239 --> 00:36:00,116 whatsoever inside the mask, 707 00:36:00,200 --> 00:36:02,285 then we started the test. 708 00:36:02,369 --> 00:36:06,289 We also measured the brain waves of the subject. 709 00:36:06,373 --> 00:36:09,751 And we could see that the person could see. 710 00:36:09,834 --> 00:36:14,631 They could read as if they were seeing normally 711 00:36:14,714 --> 00:36:16,883 without any mask or anything whatsoever. 712 00:36:16,966 --> 00:36:18,343 Forty‐two. 713 00:36:18,426 --> 00:36:20,637 This is extraordinary. 714 00:36:20,679 --> 00:36:23,223 How do you even begin to explain that? 715 00:36:23,306 --> 00:36:25,642 SHATNER: How indeed? 716 00:36:25,684 --> 00:36:29,020 Because these subjects seemingly were able to sense things 717 00:36:29,104 --> 00:36:31,314 without using any of their five senses. 718 00:36:31,398 --> 00:36:33,525 So, then what explains it? 719 00:36:33,608 --> 00:36:36,778 Of course, everyone recognizes the five senses 720 00:36:36,861 --> 00:36:38,363 that we all have. 721 00:36:39,698 --> 00:36:41,157 However, it seems 722 00:36:41,199 --> 00:36:46,329 that we are also able to have another sense, 723 00:36:46,413 --> 00:36:49,916 another way to receive information, 724 00:36:49,999 --> 00:36:53,378 retrieve data from the physical world 725 00:36:53,461 --> 00:36:57,424 beyond the five senses that we all know of. 726 00:36:57,507 --> 00:36:59,300 If you take a look at the animal kingdom, 727 00:36:59,384 --> 00:37:01,970 they have six, seven senses as well. 728 00:37:02,053 --> 00:37:04,389 Bees, for example, 729 00:37:04,472 --> 00:37:07,308 can see ultraviolet radiation. 730 00:37:07,392 --> 00:37:12,313 Birds are famous for being able to lock onto magnetism. 731 00:37:12,397 --> 00:37:16,818 So if animals have other senses, then why can't we? 732 00:37:26,786 --> 00:37:29,664 It all sounds a bit too ooga‐booga, doesn't it? 733 00:37:29,706 --> 00:37:32,751 Well, not according to a study published by scientists 734 00:37:32,834 --> 00:37:34,878 from Caltech in 2019, 735 00:37:34,961 --> 00:37:39,549 which suggests that humans can not only detect energy fields; 736 00:37:39,674 --> 00:37:43,845 they can also sense the magnetic field of the Earth. 737 00:37:44,971 --> 00:37:47,599 TRAVIS TAYLOR: The human brain has a lot of phenomena 738 00:37:47,682 --> 00:37:50,643 going on inside it that uses electromagnetic charges 739 00:37:50,727 --> 00:37:51,978 and electric fields. 740 00:37:52,061 --> 00:37:55,482 And if you change the magnetic field around your brain, 741 00:37:55,565 --> 00:37:59,652 it will impact what's going on inside your brain. 742 00:37:59,694 --> 00:38:04,657 So, small magnetic fields are most certainly detectable. 743 00:38:04,741 --> 00:38:07,494 We just may not realize we're detecting them. 744 00:38:07,535 --> 00:38:09,496 WOOD: It wouldn't surprise me in any way 745 00:38:09,621 --> 00:38:11,998 if there aren't aspects of, uh, brain function 746 00:38:12,081 --> 00:38:15,502 that we are completely unaware of at the moment, 747 00:38:15,585 --> 00:38:17,504 that we'll become aware of later 748 00:38:17,629 --> 00:38:20,632 when we understand more about how the brain actually works. 749 00:38:20,757 --> 00:38:23,510 SHATNER: Since it's already been proven 750 00:38:23,635 --> 00:38:26,137 that humans have more than five senses, 751 00:38:26,221 --> 00:38:28,765 could there really be something to the notion 752 00:38:28,848 --> 00:38:32,060 that we have the potential to sense the world around us 753 00:38:32,143 --> 00:38:37,232 in what some would consider bizarre or even mystical ways? 754 00:38:37,315 --> 00:38:40,902 According to some researchers, the answer is yes. 755 00:38:41,027 --> 00:38:42,487 And as evidence they point 756 00:38:42,570 --> 00:38:47,158 to an incredible phenomenon known as paroptic vision. 757 00:38:47,200 --> 00:38:50,328 LUTYENS: Paroptic vision was first proposed 758 00:38:50,370 --> 00:38:53,164 by a surrealist writer called Rene Daumal, 759 00:38:53,248 --> 00:38:55,291 who, as a teenager, practiced 760 00:38:55,375 --> 00:38:57,377 seeing color through his fingertips. 761 00:38:57,460 --> 00:39:00,505 So he'd put different colored handkerchiefs inside a box 762 00:39:00,588 --> 00:39:02,465 and then he'd run tests to see 763 00:39:02,507 --> 00:39:04,968 if he could tell what color the handkerchief was. 764 00:39:05,051 --> 00:39:08,680 That sounds quite fringe, but I've done some experiments. 765 00:39:08,763 --> 00:39:11,140 It's a rare ability, but I did find one person 766 00:39:11,182 --> 00:39:13,560 who was able to detect the colors 767 00:39:13,643 --> 00:39:14,978 through the fingertips. 768 00:39:15,061 --> 00:39:17,313 I can't explain it, but she could detect color 769 00:39:17,355 --> 00:39:20,942 with 80% reliability through her fingertips. 770 00:39:21,025 --> 00:39:22,819 It's been discovered 771 00:39:22,861 --> 00:39:25,572 that the skin has opsins embedded in them. 772 00:39:25,655 --> 00:39:28,449 And opsins help the body calibrate 773 00:39:28,533 --> 00:39:31,452 to circadian rhythms, to 24‐hour rhythms. 774 00:39:31,536 --> 00:39:34,789 So it's not too much of a stretch to think how opsins 775 00:39:34,873 --> 00:39:37,709 could not just detect light but they could also detect color. 776 00:39:37,792 --> 00:39:39,669 WOOD: Many people believe 777 00:39:39,752 --> 00:39:41,838 that there are mysterious ways of sensing things 778 00:39:41,921 --> 00:39:44,132 that don't involve the traditional senses. 779 00:39:44,215 --> 00:39:48,177 And I believe that there's a perfectly reasonable expectation 780 00:39:48,261 --> 00:39:50,638 that that may perhaps be true. 781 00:39:50,680 --> 00:39:53,641 We don't really understand how the brain works at all. 782 00:39:54,642 --> 00:39:56,728 SHATNER: As incredible as it is 783 00:39:56,811 --> 00:40:01,316 to discover new senses, it's also a little unsettling. 784 00:40:01,399 --> 00:40:04,652 Because if our brain is just using our senses 785 00:40:04,736 --> 00:40:08,072 to constantly try and guess what reality is, 786 00:40:08,156 --> 00:40:13,328 then how are we to know when it guesses wrong instead of right? 787 00:40:13,411 --> 00:40:15,330 SETH: I like to think of perception 788 00:40:15,371 --> 00:40:17,707 as a kind of controlled hallucination, because 789 00:40:17,790 --> 00:40:20,293 there's no light in the skull, there's no sound in the skull. 790 00:40:20,376 --> 00:40:21,836 All you've got to go on as a brain 791 00:40:21,920 --> 00:40:26,049 are these noisy and ambiguous sensory signals. 792 00:40:26,132 --> 00:40:27,383 Signals don't come with labels‐‐ 793 00:40:27,467 --> 00:40:30,011 "I'm from a coffee cup" or "I'm from a cat." 794 00:40:30,136 --> 00:40:33,181 And this is why, for instance, if you look up at the sky, 795 00:40:33,306 --> 00:40:37,727 and there's some fluffy clouds, sometimes you might see faces. 796 00:40:37,810 --> 00:40:43,399 CYTOWIC: Reality is not quite as real as people think. 797 00:40:43,483 --> 00:40:45,610 We are often told that something looks red 798 00:40:45,693 --> 00:40:48,321 because it reflects more red wavelengths. 799 00:40:48,404 --> 00:40:50,406 But there's no such thing as red wavelengths. 800 00:40:50,531 --> 00:40:53,993 Color is not a property of objects. 801 00:40:54,035 --> 00:40:56,245 It's a property of brains. 802 00:40:56,371 --> 00:41:01,125 It's simply the wonder that our brain is creating all of this 803 00:41:01,209 --> 00:41:04,420 and that we can agree on so much. 804 00:41:04,504 --> 00:41:07,423 Perception is about representing the world 805 00:41:07,507 --> 00:41:08,925 and the body and the self 806 00:41:09,008 --> 00:41:11,052 in the way that's most useful for the organism. 807 00:41:11,135 --> 00:41:15,556 So if you see a color, that's not right or wrong. 808 00:41:15,682 --> 00:41:18,142 Color is where the brain meets the universe 809 00:41:18,226 --> 00:41:20,979 in a way that's useful for us. 810 00:41:21,020 --> 00:41:23,564 I think we can all agree reality exists. 811 00:41:23,648 --> 00:41:26,025 We think, therefore something exists. 812 00:41:26,109 --> 00:41:27,527 But what it is 813 00:41:27,610 --> 00:41:31,489 and how we will know what it is, is fun to explore. 814 00:41:33,366 --> 00:41:37,328 Whether it's seeing the world without eyes, 815 00:41:37,412 --> 00:41:40,999 hearing things no other humans can, 816 00:41:41,082 --> 00:41:44,419 or unconsciously using senses we didn't even know we had, 817 00:41:44,502 --> 00:41:48,131 humans possess incredible sensory abilities 818 00:41:48,214 --> 00:41:50,299 that make us wonder‐‐ 819 00:41:50,383 --> 00:41:53,636 what else might be out there that we have yet to detect? 820 00:41:53,720 --> 00:41:55,722 It's a tantalizing question. 821 00:41:55,847 --> 00:42:01,310 One that will, for now, remain unexplained. 822 00:42:01,394 --> 00:42:04,565 CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY A+E NETWORKS