# third eye - is this possible **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 27, 2003, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/third-eye-is-this-possible/171482 "2003-04-27T12:58:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Knighted\_Vorpal\_Sword](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ac91a4/32.png) [@Knighted\_Vorpal\_Sword](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knighted_Vorpal_Sword)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2003, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/third-eye-is-this-possible/171482/1 "2003-04-27T12:58:44Z")
I should start by saying that this question is inspired by a _Calvin and Hobbes_ cartoon that was e-mailed to me today. Would it be possible to transplant a third eye into a human being, hook attach it to blood vessels and a third optic nerve, and have it work? ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2003, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/third-eye-is-this-possible/171482/2 "2003-04-27T13:06:05Z")
- - - If you _had_ a third optic nerve, it might work… ~ ---
**Author:** ![green\_bladder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@green\_bladder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/green_bladder)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2003, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/third-eye-is-this-possible/171482/3 "2003-04-27T13:07:32Z")
Despite the ugliness factor, I would love to have an eye at the back of my head 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2003, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/third-eye-is-this-possible/171482/4 "2003-04-27T13:10:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by green\_bladder \* > \*\*Despite the ugliness factor, I would love to have an eye at the back of my head 😃 \*\* My mom has one of those. ---
**Author:** ![herman\_and\_bill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f1d935/32.png) [@herman\_and\_bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/herman_and_bill)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2003, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/third-eye-is-this-possible/171482/5 "2003-04-27T13:11:00Z")
If it worked why would blind people choose to stay blind? ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2003, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/third-eye-is-this-possible/171482/6 "2003-04-27T13:18:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by herman\_and\_bill \* > \*\*If it worked why would blind people choose to stay blind? \*\* The same reason some deaf people chose to remain deaf: Because they were born that way, or they like it. It sounds crazy, but there are folks out there who are deaf, who could have hearing thanks to a cochlear implant, but chose not to. There’s even been a case (mentioned heavily on these boards) where a deaf lesbian couple chose a deaf father for their child in hopes that the child would be born deaf. There are deaf activists who are totally against any efforts at enabling the deaf to hear, even those who _weren’t_ born deaf, but became deaf due to accident or disease. They feel that there’s a deaf culture which would die out if there were ways to correct hearing loss. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2003, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/third-eye-is-this-possible/171482/7 "2003-04-27T14:26:19Z")
To answer the OP: No it would not work. For a tremendous variety of reasons. The foremost one being we do not have anything near the technology allowing us to cause the brain to grow a new optic connection that we could jack into. QtM, MD ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2003, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/third-eye-is-this-possible/171482/8 "2003-04-27T15:56:25Z")
Even if we could somehow add another optic nerve, the brain probably wouldn’t know how to combine the input with the other eye’s images. Just because you plug something into your PC, that doesn’t mean there’s software able to use it. And I doubt the brain is “Plug And Play”… ---
**Author:** ![Caesar\_s\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/73ab20/32.png) [@Caesar\_s\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caesar_s_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2003, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/third-eye-is-this-possible/171482/9 "2003-04-27T16:40:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tuckerfan \* > \*\*It sounds crazy, but there are folks out there who are deaf, who could have hearing thanks to a cochlear implant, but chose not to. There’s even been a case (mentioned heavily on these boards) where a deaf lesbian couple chose a deaf father for their child in hopes that the child would be born deaf. There are deaf activists who are totally against any efforts at enabling the deaf to hear, even those who _weren’t_ born deaf, but became deaf due to accident or disease. They feel that there’s a deaf culture which would die out if there were ways to correct hearing loss. \*\* There IS a Deaf culture. It’s a huge, huge, big deal with lots of documentaries about it. Deaf parents who are part of the culture want their Deaf children to stay part of the culture. They want other people’s Deaf children to be part of the culture, too. Trust me, this is huge. As for the OP I would think that it would be the brain that wouldn’t accept it. Look at how many operations go wrong because the body/brain won’t accept the new “stuff;” why would the brain be flexible enough to accept a new eye? It would probably reject it. ---
**Author:** ![Ender\_Will](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Ender\_Will](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ender_Will)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2003, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/third-eye-is-this-possible/171482/10 "2003-04-27T16:44:46Z")
Clearly adding a third eye wouldn’t work, but what about moving one? Would it be possible to extend or stretch the optic nerve and move your left eye to the back of your head? ---
**Author:** ![Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2003, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/third-eye-is-this-possible/171482/11 "2003-04-27T16:52:54Z")
See above. the part of your brain that combines your eye’s separate images into one would most likely get very, very confused. Getting around this would likely require the ability to grow new brain structures, which as mentioned we’re lightyears away from being able to do. ---
**Author:** ![Severian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/49beb7/32.png) [@Severian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Severian)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2003, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/third-eye-is-this-possible/171482/12 "2003-04-27T17:30:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Some Guy \* > \*\*See above. the part of your brain that combines your eye’s separate images into one would most likely get very, very confused. Getting around this would likely require the ability to grow new brain structures, which as mentioned we’re lightyears away from being able to do. \*\* With practice I think you could sort it out. It would really be no different than the image you see when you put your hand between your eyes and place a photo or some picture such that only one eye can see it. You’d lose all depth perception, but you could probably adjust to the image. The biggest hurdle would be to train your eyes to focus independently of one another. Anyone know if this is possible? ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2003, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/third-eye-is-this-possible/171482/13 "2003-04-27T18:27:52Z")
JFTR, the pineal gland is light-sensitive, and in some creatures (the tuatara _Sphenodon punctatus_ comes to mind) it is located just below the (translucent) skin and can perceive the presence or absence of sunlight, etc. – useful for basking purposes. Some have referred to it as a “third eye” in consequence of this, though that’s a massive exaggeration. ---
**Author:** ![FudgeNugget](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7cd45c/32.png) [@FudgeNugget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FudgeNugget)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2003, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/third-eye-is-this-possible/171482/14 "2003-04-27T20:54:23Z")
If not eyes, then what about limbs? I’d enjoy having a couple extra arms. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2003, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/third-eye-is-this-possible/171482/15 "2003-04-27T21:29:48Z")
I don’t see why the same logic wouldn’t apply to limbs. The brain has evolved to handle 2 arms, and slapping another one on without changing the brain the handle it simply wouldn’t work. ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2003, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/third-eye-is-this-possible/171482/16 "2003-04-27T21:40:01Z")
The OP question asked ‘is it possible?’, and the answer to that is double. Is it possible now or in the near future? Not by a long chalk. Will it ever be possible? Barring accidents, yes. If medical science, neurological investigations and nanotechnology develop as expected, you could have a hundred eyes, each watching a different TV channel if desired. * * * Sc-ifi worldbuilding at [http://www.orionsarm.com/main.html](http://www.orionsarm.com/main.html) ---
**Author:** ![FudgeNugget](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7cd45c/32.png) [@FudgeNugget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FudgeNugget)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2003, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/third-eye-is-this-possible/171482/17 "2003-04-27T22:12:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Revtim \* > \*\*I don’t see why the same logic wouldn’t apply to limbs. The brain has evolved to handle 2 arms, and slapping another one on without changing the brain the handle it simply wouldn’t work. \*\* Eh, guess not ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2003, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/third-eye-is-this-possible/171482/18 "2003-04-27T23:46:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Caesar’s Ghost \* > **There IS a Deaf culture. It’s a huge, huge, big deal with lots of documentaries about it. Deaf parents who are part of the culture want their Deaf children to stay part of the culture. They want other people’s Deaf children to be part of the culture, too. Trust me, this is huge.** Never said it wasn’t. I’ve got a cousin who is so profoundly hard of hearing that she might as well be deaf. She, however, has done what she can to remain mixed into hearing society and doesn’t believe that if it’s possible to gain hearing, one should stay deaf. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2003, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/third-eye-is-this-possible/171482/19 "2003-04-27T23:56:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ender\_Will \* > \*\*Clearly adding a third eye wouldn’t work, but what about moving one? Would it be possible to extend or stretch the optic nerve and move your left eye to the back of your head? \*\* I asked a question similar to this one a while back; [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?&threadid=156958)’s the link.