Aristotle was the gentleman who first promulgated the theory that there were five senses, and despite a great deal of scientific research having led us to the conclusion that there are many more than the traditional sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste, the public still believes that this is the case well over two millennia later. There are actually a significant number of sub-sets of those five basic senses alone: sight breaks down into colours and brightness; how you taste can break down into sweet, salty, bitter, sour and savoury; touch is such a complex sensory system, incorporating so many different forms of receptor, that each of the subsets could be considered a distinct sense in and of themselves. For example, proprioception allows us to sense the position of relative parts of our bodies without seeing them. You use it to pick your nose without poking yourself in the eye. Nociception, meanwhile, is the ability to sense pain, also divided into subsets of cutaneous (skin), somatic (joints and bones), and visceral (body organs). Thermoception is how we sense degrees of temperature (one for heat, one for cold, and a totally different sense for gauging internal temperature), while hunger and thirst also qualify as separate interior senses. There are also completely individual itching receptors and sensory systems in our bodies, although we probably wish there werent. We can feel the effect of pressure and acceleration upon our bodies thats a separate sense, as is the ability to balance and perceive changes in direction. Our muscles have processes allowing us to sense tension, while many of our internal organs can tell when theyre being stretched. A similar process allows us to sense headaches through sensing the dilation of blood vessels. Our brains can perceive hormonal and chemical changes, and to a minor degree can even detect magnetic fields, although no ones exactly sure how. Theres also some research indicating that our perception of the passing of time may be an entirely separate sense, especially for those who are capable of guessing to the minute the time of day. Its even theorised that the ability to plan long term could be an entirely separate sensory capacity. These facts, unfortunately, are pretty on the money - 10 Sad Facts About The Future Of Earth. Do you have a well-known myth youd like to bust? Tell us about it in the comments!
Professional writer, punk werewolf and nesting place for starfish. Obsessed with squid, spirals and story. I publish short weird fiction online at desincarne.com, and tweet nonsense under the name Jack The Bodiless. You can follow me all you like, just don't touch my stuff.
Aristotle was the gentleman who first promulgated the theory that there were five senses, and despite a great deal of scientific research having led us to the conclusion that there are many more than the traditional sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste, the public still believes that this is the case well over two millennia later. There are actually a significant number of sub-sets of those five basic senses alone: sight breaks down into colours and brightness; how you taste can break down into sweet, salty, bitter, sour and savoury; touch is such a complex sensory system, incorporating so many different forms of receptor, that each of the subsets could be considered a distinct sense in and of themselves. For example, proprioception allows us to sense the position of relative parts of our bodies without seeing them. You use it to pick your nose without poking yourself in the eye. Nociception, meanwhile, is the ability to sense pain, also divided into subsets of cutaneous (skin), somatic (joints and bones), and visceral (body organs). Thermoception is how we sense degrees of temperature (one for heat, one for cold, and a totally different sense for gauging internal temperature), while hunger and thirst also qualify as separate interior senses. There are also completely individual itching receptors and sensory systems in our bodies, although we probably wish there werent. We can feel the effect of pressure and acceleration upon our bodies thats a separate sense, as is the ability to balance and perceive changes in direction. Our muscles have processes allowing us to sense tension, while many of our internal organs can tell when theyre being stretched. A similar process allows us to sense headaches through sensing the dilation of blood vessels. Our brains can perceive hormonal and chemical changes, and to a minor degree can even detect magnetic fields, although no ones exactly sure how. Theres also some research indicating that our perception of the passing of time may be an entirely separate sense, especially for those who are capable of guessing to the minute the time of day. Its even theorised that the ability to plan long term could be an entirely separate sensory capacity. These facts, unfortunately, are pretty on the money - 10 Sad Facts About The Future Of Earth. Do you have a well-known myth youd like to bust? Tell us about it in the comments!