Living with a fifth limb

Both to feel a little less surveilled and to be subjected to fewer deviations from whatever stream of thought is ongoing, I often choose to leave my cell phone at home when going out.

The choice does serve those purposes but, whether my phone-side pocket is empty or stocked with some less intrusive object, I nonetheless feel periodic spontaneous sensations which can be interpreted as the buzz of text messages or email. It’s somewhat akin, perhaps, to the phantom limb syndrome experienced by those who have lost arms, legs, or digits. Once the brain has come to expect sensations from a particular part of the peripheral nervous system, it will sometimes introduce them by its own invention whether the genuine form is present or not.

Author: Milan

In the spring of 2005, I graduated from the University of British Columbia with a degree in International Relations and a general focus in the area of environmental politics. Between 2005 and 2007 I completed an M.Phil in IR at Wadham College, Oxford. I worked for five years for the Canadian federal government, including completing the Accelerated Economist Training Program, and then completed a PhD in Political Science at the University of Toronto in 2023. View all posts by Milan