What compelled you do get this and what’s the procedure for getting it put in?

CW: Surgery

I got it done back in 2010 or so. At the time I was working in I.T., and spent a lot of time in underground electronic music circles. Goth / cybergoth / cyberpunk and underground rave culture, and I grew up on the internet in the '90s with a lot of transhumanist influence before it got co-opted by tech bros. I’d heard of the procedure a few years before and somehow the opportunity to get it done crossed one of my social feeds. It felt like something that would be useful and also fun to have. Me and a couple of friends were really interested in it so we all went and did it together. I’m not sure I’d have done it just on my own. The procedure itself is actually pretty brutal so the CW applies from here. There are a couple different ways to do it depending on the shape of magnet. For a flat one (like a coin cell battery) they cut a flap of skin, stick the magnet in and stitch it back up. For the long ones they basically stab a deep slit in your fingertip alongside the bone with a long scalpel blade, jam the magnet in there and stitch it closed. I have a long one, it’s a little bit shorter and fatter than a grain of rice. I got it done under local anaesthetic, which isn’t strictly legal here, but I’m sure glad they did it.

Has it ever caused any problems?

Yes. I got it in my left ring finger because I’m right handed, but it’s decreased the grip strength in that hand a bit. Too much pressure on that fingertip just hurts. I couldn’t really do rock climbing if I wanted to, and I can’t play a steel string guitar any more for the same reason. Nylon strings I can just about get away with but it takes a lot of practice to get the finger positions right that I just haven’t put in. 99% of the time in daily life I just work around it though. Other things that people mentioned to me like setting off metal detectors or killing hard drives haven’t happened to me. Never had to get an MRI, but I suspect that would be an issue too. It also sometimes aches in the cold.

Was it difficult to get used to?

Sort of? The first six months were definitely a learning experience. I found myself sticking to metal stair rails, accidentally picking up spoons with it, generally getting it caught on things. I suppose that’s not -that- different from a new piercing in a prominent location though. I also found myself getting surprised by magnetic fields, but now I’m just kind of used to it. I suspect the sensation has dulled a bit over time, too.

What does it feel like when you feel the magnetic fields?

A lot of people have said things along the lines of “oh, like a sixth sense?” But it’s not. It’s more like being able to see in infrared; it’s not an extra sense, just an extension of an existing one. Probably the best way to explain it is; if you ever caught a fly or buzzing insect as a kid, and felt it buzzing against your hand. It’s kinda like that but from under the skin. Definitely a bit icky to feel something moving under your skin until you get used to it. The sensitivity is -really- variable because the implant procedure is pretty far from an exact science, or it was back then, anyway. The people I got it with had very different results; one was a lot more sensitive and could feel fields from much further away, one was much less sensitive. It’s probably to do with how deep the implant is, the sensitive one couldn’t pick up much more than a paperclip, whereas the less sensitive one could pick up an entire dessert spoon. I feel like a person might be able to train themselves to recognise different types and strengths of fields depending on their sensitivity, but I never bothered trying.

EDIT: formatting, detail