Do Humans Have a 6th Sense? (2018) - full transcript

Most of us believe
we only possess five senses,

but there are people
who claim we have more,

and that we can
learn how to use them.

From talking to the dead
to connecting with

the earth's magnetic field,
these believers are out there.

I need to meet them.

My father was a scientist

running a top secret
government project.

One night in his lab,
an experiment went horribly wrong,

rendering him invisible.

Fearing he was
disappearing forever,



he rushed home to see my mother.

And nine months
later, I was born.

My life's mission is to
investigate concepts on

the fringe of science,
conducting experiments to test

those claims regardless of taboo
or seeming unprovability,

searching for the clues
that will make me visible.

I walk on the edge of science.

I am Mister Tachyon.

Many human senses have
evolved and been lost through

the history of life on Earth.

Superior senses of smell,
sight and sound that were once part of

our biological toolbox became
less necessary for survival.

Some people claim that we
once had access to senses like

the ability to navigate using
the earth's magnetic field,



and that humans could
communicate in ways that

transcend the accepted
laws of physical nature,

including ESP, the ability to
communicate across space using

only your mind, and psi,
the ability to speak with the dead.

Measuring a sixth sense is
challenging scientifically,

but I still need to investigate.

It could hold the key to
unlocking my invisibility.

Some people say they have
the ability to view the world

remotely, that they're able
to sense information about

distant or hidden locations.

I'm meeting up with remote
viewer John Cook to learn more.

What is remote viewing?

Remote viewing is the ability to
perceive details of a location

or an activity that is
otherwise shielded to you

by it being distant, or it
being remote in time or space.

What makes remote viewing
unique and testable?

Remote viewing is done
under controlled conditions.

The person who's doing the
viewing is blind to the nature

of what they're looking at, and
it's important that there be

an actual thing that
you are viewing.

And so you need to be able
to get feedback at the end

to have a looped
closure essentially.

Do you get visions,
or how does the information come to you?

It's more of a general
perception that's happening.

You're getting all sorts of
different kinds of detail about

the location or the thing
that you're looking at.

It's not coming in in a nice,
clean, orderly, visual way.

Is remote viewing
an extra sense?

It is a sense that every human
being has to varying degrees.

The ability or the aptitude for
it is distributed in the general

population probably something
like musical inclination is.

Some people can't play a
violin to save their life.

Other people,
they're four years old,

and they're up onstage and
they're blowing your mind.

I'm going to test John and
see if he can remote view

a location, and I've
recruited a volunteer to help.

So I'm gonna be trying to do
a remote viewing session today.

And when you get there, if you
could just try to experience

that location as
fully as possible,

walk around, look at things,
touch things, listen to things,

pay attention to details that
are especially interesting,

and we'll see how it goes.

Neither John, the volunteer
or myself have any idea

where we are going.

Three distinct locations
with recognizable landmarks

were chosen and photographed.

The three photos along with
written descriptions were then

placed into sealed envelopes.

After a brief meeting with John,

we travelled to
one of the locations.

Again, none of us have
any idea where we're going.

Alright, so the
target is Tachyon-Ian.

How are you feeling right now?

Kind of skeptical,
to be honest with you,

but I'm gonna keep
an open mind to it.

We're gonna declare what
we call a water gestalt,

which just means that
some element of the target

may contain predominantly water.

Biological, is
looking at something.

There's a sort of a...
a degree of intensity of

looking at a particular
thing for some length of time.

Right now I see...
I've got the skyline.

I see the waves of
the lake coming in.

Descriptors related to the
water are that it's energetic,

it's propelled.

And if you listen
carefully, you can hear the...

the water hitting
the rocks over there.

The structure basically
delineates edges of a region.

So it's like there's some
function of this structure

that actually is a clear
division between regions

for some reason.

In the middle of all this,
there is a very specific

upright focal point.

It feels essentially permanent.

How accurate do you
expect you'll be?

It varies with remote viewing.

Sometimes it can be
spectacularly on.

You can wind up at
the end of a session

with three-dimensional clay
models that very obviously are

the location that
you're talking about.

Other times it's
a complete bust.

This is sort of the
experience of lan at the site.

Typically you're looking
for somewhere between 60+%

of the things that are said
and identified to be true

in order to consider it a hit.

And the idea is when
it's on, it's really on.

Done.

I got sucked into
this fountain thing,

so if they're not at
a fountain, I'm fucked.

To measure how John did, I
have asked five volunteers

to examine his work and
compare it to the information

in the three sealed envelopes.

The volunteers have been
given two tasks: try to match

John's work with the contents
from one of the envelopes,

and then rank their confidence
on a scale between 1 and 5,

with 5 being 100% certain,
and 1 being 0% confident.

My hypothesis is that
the volunteers will match

John's viewing to
the chosen location

with a high degree
of confidence.

I selected Envelope 1,

and I give it a
confidence rating of 5.

I think #1 is most
likely to be this photo,

but I'm probably just
#3 confident because

the description was too generic.

I selected #1.

Level 5 confidence.

I selected #1.

I gave it a 5.

4 out of 5 picked
the right location.

Only one failed to identify
the bridge and water.

Under the circumstances,
this is as good as I think

I hoped to do, other than
an absolute complete hit.

That would've
been awesome, but...

I have to say, John, these
results are pretty amazing.

None of the volunteers have any
knowledge of the experiment,

and those who chose correctly

had an overall
confidence rating of 90%.

John's notes indicate that he
immediately linked our location

to moving water,
and our location is set beside a river

emptying into a lake.

Predominantly water.

He also noted an upright rigid
structure, and another structure

he described as rigid
with parallel lines.

When he put all of
this information together,

he took the water and
structures to be a fountain,

which was not correct,
but the description also resembles

the rock feature and the bridge.

Overall, John's description
seemed accurate

in a number of ways, and my
volunteers confirmed this.

While I only ran
one trial with John,

the results are very interesting

and compel me to continue
with my investigation.

Next, I wanna meet
someone who believes

they can speak with the dead.

I'm investigating
whether humans possess

or can develop
additional senses.

My experiment with remote
viewer John Cook was compelling,

and I am motivated to
continue my investigation.

I've found a woman who claims
to have been connecting with

the spirit world
for over 30 years.

She specializes
in psychic healing,

and believes her ability can
be explained with science.

Everything's heightened
when you're doing this work.

Your brain chemistry changes,
your physicality changes.

The spirit world, they vibrate
at a higher level than us.

We're solid, they're gaseous.

So think of physics and
how vibrations are different

according to the
state that you're in.

So what's really interesting for
me is that I use all five senses

in a heightened state in order
to meet with the spirit world.

Carolyn has agreed
to participate

in an experiment for me.

She believes her brain
changes during her readings.

I don't have any
ways of tracking

her communication with
the dead, but I can track

her brain's electrical
activity with an EEG device.

An EEG uses electrodes that
can measure brain waves.

Our experiment will measure four
rhythms produced by the brain:

alpha, beta, delta, and theta.

The frequency of each
gives us an idea of

how alert a person is.

I'm going to start with
a baseline reading of

her brain activity while we
have a regular conversation.

These frequencies show
her normal brain activity.

I'll then compare these results
to her brain frequencies

during three separate readings.

Upon completion,
I will debrief with each volunteer.

My hypothesis is that I should
see measurable differences

in her brain frequencies
between her baseline

and her accurate readings
versus when she is not accurate.

I'm hoping to
connect with my dad.

Oh my goodness, there's a
father figure that's come in.

Is your father in spirit?

Yeah.

I feel like with your dad,
there was never a dull moment.

If people got bored, they'd
call up your dad and say,

"Okay, well let's do something,"

and he would rise
to the occasion.

Today I hope to
connect with my father.

Strong working man.

I feel like he carried
the world on his shoulders.

Do you understand that?

- Mm-hmm, yes.
- Yes? Okay, good.

Part of him wants to apologize
for not really taking in all of

who you are, because I think he
missed the fun aspects of you.

Hmm.

He's telling me that he now
understands that you are very

different outside of the home
than you were in the house.

I'm looking to contact
my stepdad, Charlie.

He wants you to laugh,
he wants you to smile.

He doesn't want you to cry.

He says this is a celebration
of me being with you.

I think that's one of the
things you whispered to him

before he left, was
that... don't leave me.

- Right.
- Right?

- Yeah.
- And he hasn't.

With the readings finished,
I meet with the volunteers.

It was interesting
to see the accuracy.

I was pleasantly
surprised, I would say.

There were many,
many things that...

that you can't tell
from a photograph.

Now onto the EEG data.

Carolyn's brain activity
changed in unique ways

between the baseline
and readings.

During her readings, beta brain
waves, showing intense focus,

and theta brain waves,
which relate to daydreaming,

were dominant at times.

These two waves are not
dominant in her baseline test.

Next, I examine the specific
time she gave an accurate

or inaccurate reading
to each of the subjects

based on their
anecdotal evidence.

Do you understand that?

Yeah, my aunt recently passed.

When Carolyn was reading
accurately, her brain was in

a focused or dream-like
state 75% of the time.

But he just feels like someone
who could do bowling very well.

When her accuracy was off,
her brain was mostly in a state

similar to her
baseline, or normal.

This data
supports my hypothesis,

and there's an interesting
correlation between

Carolyn's unusual brain
states and her accuracy

reading the subjects tested.

Even with this interesting data,
I'm forced to use anecdotal

evidence to gauge how
accurate her ability is,

and this prevents me
from making a conclusion

in regards to her claim
to speak with the dead.

I would also like to examine her
brain data when she's focused on

other activities like
reading or doing a puzzle.

Now I need to find a less
anecdotal way to test accuracy

in individuals who claim to
have an extra sensory ability.

I want to connect with
someone who claims they have

an extra sense, but one that is
grounded in the physical world.

And I've found
someone near Seattle

that might be able to help me.

I need to meet him.

I'm exploring the
idea that humans possess

or can develop
additional senses.

My experiments with a
psychic and remote viewer

gave me some
interesting results,

and I am eager to continue
my investigation.

I found someone whose
brain apparently has

a measurable difference in the
way it perceives the world.

He claims altered
wiring in his brain

allows him to see
things geometrically.

The name's Jason Padgett.

I'm a synesthete
and acquired savant.

Basically an ability that I have
is something that we all have,

but we're not aware of.

A synesthete is a person who
senses the world differently.

Some see words in
certain colours.

For some, sounds
trigger strange sensations.

Others like Jason
see the world in math.

Describe your condition for me.

I see motion in picture frames,
which makes everything

that was curved looked like
it's slightly pixelated,

and seeing things in picture
frames makes the way that...

things move and the math
behind it much more obvious.

Interesting.

Is this something
you were born with?

In 2002, I was
attacked by two muggers,

and the next thing I knew I
was waking up on the ground

getting punched and kicked
from all different directions,

and it damaged the
part of the brain that

smooths out picture frames.

So now whenever something moves,
I'm aware of the picture frames.

Put it in here, then it
winds up being like say 6.28...

It forces you to
see in calculus,

which to me is absolutely key
to understanding the universe,

reality, everything.

So what do you see
when we toss this orange?

So as we toss this
orange back and forth,

like for instance, that
looks about like -.1x squared.

So that equation describes the
arc of this ball due to gravity,

a parabolic arc.

The orange does
travel along an arc

that matches Jason's statement.

How does your ability help you
describe moving objects in math?

The slower it's getting, the
closer the picture frames get,

and the faster it moves, the
further the picture frames

get apart from each other.

A good way to describe it
is like a flip book.

You know how you can draw a
cartoon character on several

different pieces of paper,
then you flip the paper

and it looks like the
cartoon character moves,

but it looks kinda jittery.

And the more pictures you
draw, the smoother it looks.

Is modifying our brains,
our bodies to give us extra senses

something that we should do?

Modifying ourselves not
only is something that we--

that we should do,
but perhaps we are

the natural evolution
for computers.

And perhaps event-- the only
way for us to keep up with it

is to merge, you know,
with computers.

Jason's story raises
the question about

modifying ourselves to
acquire extra senses.

But the unique and tragic way
he acquired his extra sense

makes it impossible
to replicate.

I need to find someone
who is using other means

to explore the potential
for extra human senses.

Some believe that all humans
were once connected to

magnetic north as a
means of navigation.

Carl Smith is working on a
project called North Sense.

It uses technology to help
people connect with a sense of

direction that humans have lost
along our evolutionary path.

North Sense is the basic aim
of trying to give people back

a sense, which is the ability
to actually detect north.

The implant is actually
just a body piercing,

so the actual sense or the
technology is not actually

implanted in the body,
and we are basically trying

to establish what effect
the North Sense has

on the human condition.

North Sense sounds interesting,

but I need to learn more
about this project firsthand.

Carl puts me in touch with
someone who already has

the implant, the leader of
a group called Cyborg Nest,

Liviu Babitz.

I have the North Sense
connected right here to my body.

How does it work?

The way it works is every
time you're basically facing

the magnetic north in the
certain location you are,

it will give you
this short vibration.

The North Sense doesn't ask
me, or I don't ask it if I am

interested to know
where the north is,

the magnetic north.

It just gives me that
information every time.

What do you hope to gain
from this extra sense?

When you start searching about
the north and the earth magnetic

field, you understand that it's
part of everything that we know.

It's everywhere
in our traditions,

starting from the
feng shui religions.

Nature is built different
on the north side

than on the south side.

Animals have this sense.

So the whole thing comes from

a very basic existence
of us as humans.

We want to open this door.

We want to start
sensing what we can't sense.

I'm going to run an experiment
to test if the North Sense

changes Liviu's
navigational memory.

To do this, I brought Liviu
and two control subjects

who do not have the device
to an unfamiliar city,

Breda in the Netherlands.

It's a medieval city with a
complex network of streets

and city squares.

From the same starting point,
I take each subject on

a disorienting walk to a church
in Breda's central square.

Do you know where
you are right now?

I have no idea.
No, I don't know.

If I asked you to
get to where we met,

do you think you'd
be able to do it?

No, I think I have no clue
where to go, actually.

I'd like for you to make your
way back to where we started.

A local familiar with the
city could do this walk

in five minutes.

I will map their routes and
record the time each subject

takes to complete the test.

My hypothesis is that the North
Sense implant will help Liviu

navigate his way back to the
meeting point more efficiently

than the control subjects.

With the experiment underway,
I head back to the meeting point

to collect the data.

I'm testing a new
technology called North Sense.

I've asked two control
subjects without the device

and the third with the
North Sense, Liviu Babitz,

to navigate an unfamiliar city.

One at a time, each individual
set off from the town church.

I recorded their time
back to a meeting point

and mapped their route.

My hypothesis is that the
ability to detect magnetic north

will enhance Liviu's ability
to navigate a confusing network

of streets more efficiently
than the controls.

I didn't feel confidence
when I was navigating

because I'm very
used to using my GPS.

So not having access to my
phone when I was doing this

felt kind of unnatural.

When I started the experiment,
I didn't know exactly what to

expect, but that feeling that
follows me every day of knowing

all the time where the north is
is something that's been already

built into my
perception of life.

So I expected to feel
confident about me going back.

Well, my strategy at the start
was I knew the last few turns.

My sense of direction told me
it was at a certain place,

and at the same time I had the
sense of direction telling me

like where roughly
the part we started was.

But by the time
I got to the park,

I had no clue where I was, so...

My first control
completed the test

in just under seven minutes.

Iris, you found our destination.

I found it!

What was your experience like?

I had no clue where I was.

I was just following
some sort of feeling.

Did you feel confident?

Not at all.

Would you implant
technology to help you,

to give you a
sense of direction?

Yeah, I think it would
be very helpful for me.

Only if it's safe.

My second control did not find
his way to the meeting point.

We were supposed to
meet at the giant block.

Giant block, right.

Yeah, do you have any
sense of where that is?

Uh, right now not really.

I probably took the
wrong turn out of the park,

because after that I didn't
really know where I was going.

Do you feel that
having another sense,

something like the North
Sense, might've assisted you?

Yeah, I think it
would've assisted me for sure.

With the North Sense device,
Liviu found his way back

in just over four minutes,
arriving at our destination

the fastest out of
our three subjects.

What was that
experience like for you?

It was very, very exciting.

It's the first time I
do something like that.

What role did North Sense play
in helping you navigate back?

I have zero visual memories of
where we've been all the way

now, and suddenly the North
Sense was the main thing that

created the memories
or the understanding,

and the hearing and the
sight were the secondary things.

Everything that
we created as humans

we created because
we have senses.

So now add to these
senses and imagine

how much more we can create.

This preliminary experiment
supported my hypothesis.

Liviu navigated the city
better than the other subjects.

To determine if this is due to
the North Sense or some other

factor, more testing
will have to be done,

but this is a promising start.

My last experiment demonstrated
that technology may help enhance

human sensory perception.

Liviu navigated an unknown
city better than the other

test subjects, but the results
were not overly significant.

More testing with other
people connected to the device

is needed.

My experiment with
Carolyn was interesting.

While I was not able to
determine if she can communicate

with the spirit world, I learned
that her brain does change

during readings.

My remote viewing experiment
with John came back with

the most interesting results.

The data appears to support the
hypothesis that he was able to

view a location remotely.

Do these results constitute
evidence of extra senses?

I need to do more experiments.