'The UnXplained: Superhuman Senses' Preview: Can our senses be enhanced to do more?
After July 11's thrilling episode about the world's greatest escape, 'The UnXplained' host William Shatner takes us on a sensory journey of extremes in the upcoming episode. It promises to be a rigorous examination of not only what our five basic senses can do when they are 'enhanced' but also about the fabled 'sixth sense' that some of us have experienced.
Titled 'Superhuman Senses', the official synopsis of the July 18 episode reads: "Our five senses – sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch – construct the reality of the world around us. For each person, this portrait of reality is slightly different, but we more or less agree that the sky is blue, lemons are sour, and horns are loud. But what about when one or more of your senses is heightened, changed, or even taken away all together? Do people with these radically-altered senses show us that each of us has limitless sensory potential, waiting to be unlocked? And is it possible that we have a mysterious "6th sense," one that is currently UnXplained?"
In the trailer of the series, we are introduced to two extraordinary case stories of people gaining additional boost to one of their senses after another has been damaged. The first case study is of a blind man, who can 'see' with ears -- while the trailer for the episode does not explain what this means, it could be referring to how animals like bats or dolphins use echolocation to 'see', their enhanced hearing sense allowing them to understand how far they are from objects and even the shape of objects so that they can navigate around them.
Such a superhuman power is so fascinating that we actually have Marvel's 'Daredevil' - the first blind superhero who 'sees' with sound. Of late, there has also been popular interest around how blind people navigate the world because of Jason Momoa's Apple TV series 'See'. So, a more scientific approach to the phenomenon in this episode that has till not only seen fictional portrayals is welcome.
The second similar case study is of a deaf man who 'hears' with his eyes - which is an even more intriguing concept. We can assume that the episode while delving into such cases, will show how the brain compensates for the loss of one sense with another. We can also expect the episode to focus on some people who have heightened senses, like the sense of smell and taste, for instance, so important in some professions, like perfume-making or wine-tasting.
Lastly, the episode also promises to explore the realm of the 'sixth sense' - a phenomenon so well documented that psychics and spiritualists often boast of having this 'extra' sense. Again, the topic of 'sixth sense' is so interesting that we've got tons of sci-fi and fanatsy literature, movies and films devoted to this phenomenon. Scientists suggest that sixth sense is essentially the manifestation of the brain processing sensory clues that we are not consciously aware of taking in.
This might explain why police detectives get better at their 'hunches' as they work more cases because they become trained subconsciously to take in more sensory clues while investigating crime scenes or interrogating suspects. The upcoming episode will clear some of the mystery around the phenomenon but some things will be left 'unexplained' with even experts scratching their heads for an answer.
'The UnXplained' airs on July 18 at 9 pm on the History channel.