The biohack.me forums were originally run on Vanilla and ran from January 2011 to July 2024. They are preserved here as a read-only archive. If you had an account on the forums and are in the archive and wish to have either your posts anonymized or removed entirely, email us and let us know.
While we are no longer running Vanilla, Patreon badges are still being awarded, and shoutout forum posts are being created, because this is done directly in the database via an automated task.
New - Absolute Mountain of Questions
Ok guys, let me preface this by saying I think I made it up to page 15 in the forums, so I have read a bit. I was however suffering from the Flu, and still am in fact. I may have missed a fair bit. I have some questions, but first I will give you a bit of information about myself.
Myself and a small group, based in Australia, have just discovered this world. It really is our thing. We have 0 skills to bring to the table, but we are learning, applying ourselves to gaining relevant knowledge. Our first step, naturally, is to install magnets. Our two test dummies both have very active lifestyles and a few concerns, so I am hoping we can gather more information first.
Firstly, about the magnets themselves. We are naturally looking at the M31's. Our two test dummies both have highly active lifestyles, including regular weights training, rock climbing and firefighting. This is why the M31 is so attractive, but I notice people complaining they are less sensitive than their other implants. Is this likely to be the case?
We thought installing essentially in the fingertip would lead to optimum sensitivity while also keeping them out of the way (The pads are used more when gripping), but would this be an issue? Again, no experience so we are somewhat blind. I see a lot of suggestions to install them in the sides of the fingers, but is there a reason for that over the tip?
We would be going a full five digit installation on the non-dominant hand, one of the test subjects wants to also try some other spots around the hand and wrist as well. Is there a significant issue with doing all 5 digits at once in order to reduce the amount of time the hand is out of action?
Regards the feelings, we couldn't care less about party tricks, but how good is the feeling? In general I would imagine its not particularly useful apart from very niche things, but then again neither is taste. Do you find it expands your awareness of the world at all? Would you feel naked without it? Can you tell the difference between various fields, and have you become so in tune with the field of a particular item that you can tell when something is wrong with it? Power cords, can you in general tell if it is powering a device or not?
I am sure a whole lot more will come to me shortly, but I am drawing a mental blank right now.
Comments
Displaying all 10 comments
-
I'd be happy to talk about a few of your points (in no particular order).
With regards to the sensitivity of the m31, I've got no personal complaints. I will admit I've never had a different magnet implant other than my m31s, though. I know that @cassox tested alot of different sizes before the 3mm x 1mm size was settled on as being the best option for size in the body versus strength and field shape. Being N52 grade, they're as powerful as any permanent magnet that size on the market today can be. Plus you get that TiN coating, which adds so much in terms of peace of mind. @glims talked about needing to beat one with a hammer before being able to damage the coating. Not to mention the anti-fouling properties, super low cytotoxicity, etc. Good stuff.
In terms on placing them in the finger tips, well, my concern would be the repeated impacts while typing. Tiny impacts, sure, but many thousands of them, at least for me, each day. Not good in my view. I suppose if your guinea pigs don't type alot, that might not be important. The finger tips do seem pretty sensitive touchwise, so I'd imagine EM sensitivity would be decent there.
Regarding multiple implants at once... I originally implanted 3 at once thinking the same way you did. Every one of those three had issues and ultimately all were removed by me. I'm sure it was at least in part because it's very hard to not use a hand at all if you've spent your whole life using it. With multiple fingers out of commission at once, at some point you're going to end up bumping them. My re-implantations of mine were done two weeks apart each to give each some time to heal before I did the next. Four implants, four successes. That's not to say it can't be done, but I had complete success spacing them out versus complete failure when I didn't.
On the subject of feelings, I will say that I, personally, really would feel naked without them. Is it super useful everyday? Nope. But it has quite literally changed my worldview. You're opening yourself to a previously invisible part of the world. And unlike many other so-called "expanded awareness" techniques, this one is real, testable, and repeatable. This is the real deal. A sixth sense. In regards to power cords and being able to tell if they're powering something, most of the time, yes, I can tell. I've also been able to diagnose an electrical problem with something based on the fact that one leg of the 220v power felt like it was being undervolted. I could just tell, you know? And I was right. And this was a "fresh out of the box" experience on something I'd never felt the field of before. I'm sure I could identify electrical feed problems on any number of devices, especially if I were familiar with its normal feel.
-
I really appreciate you taking the time to answer. With regards the finger tips themselves, I can't imagine the typing damaging the magnet before they need to be replaced? From my basic familiarity with TINI coatings its pretty tough stuff. More of concern would be damage to the fingers themselves, is that what you meant?Do the magnets lose strength over time, and assuming so, what sort of replacement/upgrade cycle are we looking at?In order to help others like myself I am adding whatever little knowledge I have or find to the wiki here. I just made a page on Parylene! But have since realised it exists, just the wiki is horribly disorganised...
-
Sorry I wasn't clear. Yes, I mean the impacts to the fingers causing irritation because of the magnet implant. Maybe it wouldn't be a problem, but I wouldn't risk it personally.
Regarding loss of strength over time, according to the FAQ at K&J Magnetics:
Will my neodymium magnets lose strength over time?
Very little. Neodymium magnets are the strongest and most permanent magnets known to man. If they are not overheated or physically damaged, neodymium magnets will lose less than 1% of their strength over 10 years - not enough for you to notice unless you have very sensitive measuring equipment. They won't even lose their strength if they are held in repelling or attracting positions with other magnets over long periods of time.
I should point out that neodymium magnets really aren't the strongest permanent magnets known to man anymore, though. Check out this page on the University of Minnesota's website that talks about iron nitride magnets.
-
So I won't need to upgrade due to loss of function, but rather, stronger magnets! I smell a conspiracy to sell more magnets, planned obsolescence anyone?Does anyone have any personal experience with magnets in their fingertips?
-
Avvin wrote: I've also been able to diagnose an electrical problem with something based on the fact that one leg of the 220v power felt like it was being undervolted. I could just tell, you know?Cool! Be careful with this one though -- you can't feel voltage with the magnet, just current. A line might be very hot, but if there's nothing drawing power through it, you won't feel anything.I've been a little disappointed with mine. I've had it in six weeks and I can't feel much less than about 2A. I know some people have said their sensitivity increased over about 6 months, so I hope it will get a lot more sensitive as the healing completes.
-
That is one of the concerning things I keep reading, is it typical?Edit: The low sensitivity thing. I notice a lot of people seem disappointed by theirs
-
Notes about sensitivity. Magnets are not magic, they obey the laws of physics and are subject to the inverse square law. Unless you have some incredibly sensitive piece of equipment you won't be getting readings from crazy far away, this is a given. I've had mine about a month and my range is slowly and continuously growing. Magnetic or ferro magnetic things are the most prominent for me. Since I use my hands a lot i'm now acutely aware of which of my tools are magnetic. As to fields the range is low still but improving. I'm in no way disappointed. Every time i find a new field it's exhilarating, even if it's from the same type of thing. I know every spot on my computer and phone that have a field or a magnet in it. I love it all. For me the skin shed as part of the ehaling process so although it's healed totally over the skin is much thinner and more sensitive than im used to. Few weeks I figure till that's done with. I find it hard not to play with still. So really it's all about the quality of your procedure and placement. The less damage you do the better it works and the more satisfied. The more blundering around and poking as well as your natural sensitivity will determine how well you feel things. And ya if you've ever been pierced you know that healing things like this take a while. 6 months sounds dead on for greatly increased sensitivity, but depends how fast you heal.
-
Bioproofing - I know the M31's we are getting are the best as far as that is concerned, but we are looking at making some other implants, such as a watch and a wireless storage device. Now I have seen varying things on what works. Obviously there is parylene but it isn't something we can do at home, I have also seen Sugru suggested (Gotta be a step up from hot glue, right?)As far as DIY bioproofing goes, what is the 'standard'?
-
The standard far as I can see is, don't do it. If at all possible get a professional to do it, there are companies that can do all sorts of coatings. If you insist on doing it yourself it depends on what you're putting in, where and the type of implant. it's not some umbrella thing that applies to everything.
-
As it currently stands we won't be doing any manufacture or alteration of implants ourselves, as we have found an electronics company willing to do all that for us, including bioproofing. This frees us up to concentrate on design! Everyone wins except my finances...
Displaying all 10 comments