<< If neurotransmitters are merely chemical vectors, how come we can see and hear close to analog images and sounds? [hint, hint, context, hint, hint, bfd] If we can get the brain to fill in for the device [no need, the filling in should be done by the brain], erm if we can get a modicum of detail then competent sight is possible, in any spectra imaginable [Steve Austin]. >>
If you put a pen in Tolkien's hand, he'll write with it, if you put a keyboard in my hands I'll type with it, and if you put an eye in the brain's hand it will use it. Experiment on the sentient to find out what that person "sees" with a given eye; maybe make the eye modular so you can swap in equipment and do more efficient experimentation. But my guess is that the brain is not prepared for additional sensory input as the effects are exponential with the number of sensory inputs, so try it out on somebody already blind, as the mind will use sight as the most convenient metaphor for whatever sensory input it really is.
