Magnetic Fields: Great band, better sixth sense?

February 22, 2014 11:18 PM

I'm intrigued by the magnetic implants some people get implanted into their fingers (most recently, I saw this thing on Reddit). I think it would be amazing to add an extra sense, but my body rejects almost all piercings so I don't think the actual implants would go well. Would magnetic rings, consistently worn, achieve a similar effect? Even if it's not as strong, I'd be interested in trying it. If you have thoughts about how this would work, how to make it work, and where to get rings if this will work, please let me know.
posted by c'mon sea legs to Grab Bag (5 answers total)

Magnetic fingernails might be an option.
posted by HermitDog at 11:36 PM on February 22, 2014 [2 favorites]

Not exactly the same thing, but this anklet thing looks pretty cool. It has a bunch of little vibrating motors and the one facing north always vibrates, so you're constantly aware of your spacial orientation.
posted by Weeping_angel at 1:07 AM on February 23, 2014 [1 favorite]

I tried gluing rare earth magnets to my fingernails in an attempt to duplicate this effect and found that while they gave me a "sixth sense" in that I was able to detect when my hand passed near a ferromagnetic object, I did not experience the hypersensitivity to EM fields reported by some implant users. Personally, I suspect this has more to do with an overstatement of the effect by the "grinder" community than any substantive difference resulting from having the magnet under the skin vs mechanically coupled to surface anatomy. In fact, I would imagine that using a long, flat magnet anchored to a rigid fingernail would produce a more noticeable effect than a pellet suspended in soft tissue.

So yeah, buy some rare earth magnets and glue them to your fingernails, what've you got to lose?
posted by contraption at 1:20 AM on February 23, 2014

Recently I've researched this very thing, as I like the idea of having an extra sense, as it were, but am not super thrilled about getting a semi-permanent body modification. I found a number of people who suggested magnetic rings, but only one who actually tried one. Though he doesn't have magnetic implants, and therefore can't directly compare them, he does talk about being able to feel (for instance) the ringing of his cell phone.

His source for a ring is this website, which has them for under $40 (go to the top category, Magnetic Wedding Rings).
posted by CustooFintel at 1:57 AM on February 23, 2014 [1 favorite]

Also, if you don't know your ring size(s), you can find out at any jeweler's, or you can go to this website and order a free ring sizer (basically it's a set of plastic rings in every size).
posted by CustooFintel at 2:03 AM on February 23, 2014 [1 favorite]