Hacker News Reader

You do get a different "qualia". The "northpaw" has been around for a few years, it's a set of pager-buzzers that always buzz on the north side of your leg. http://sensebridge.net/projects/northpaw/ Users say they stop feeling the vibrations pretty quickly and they just "know" which way is north. http://www.quinnnorton.com/said/?tag=northpaw

View on HN

But does that really equate to different "qualia" or is it more like the cognitive "shorthand" involved in the experience of driving a vehicle? Is there a difference?

Meh, bloody semantics will get you every time.

No I think it's real. Body image is pretty plastic.

I wonder what happens when one stops wearing the Northpaw. Do they lose the 'sense' of North or does it persist (even for a little)?

Reply on news.ycombinator.com