The retina and the optic nerve are outgrowths of neural tissue, and the remarkable success of electronic implants in restoring sight shows how far brain-computer interfaces have come. These have not delivered a sci-fi vision of augmented humans with incredible new powers but, perhaps more happily, significant progress has been made, restoring ability and agency to those who have suffered injury or disease.
I ask it when I listen to a close friend of mine, a world-renowned cosmologist, whose knowledge seems limitless but whose humility runs even deeper. He can discuss black holes one minute and quote the Tao Te Ching the next. He doesn't just know facts-he knows how to listen. He knows how to explain something complicated without making you feel small. That, to me, is real intelligence.
Miller explains, "It turns out, particularly where abnormal blood vessels develop in these retinal diseases like wet macular degeneration, that the drivers are very similar to what happens in cancer."