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20.08.07
The 5 senses
The idea that there are only 5 senses is completely wrong.
Here's a quick count of the ones I can identify. They are all sources of experience/sensation. Seems to add up to between 8 and 11:
1. Smell
2. Touch
3. Hearing
4. Vision
5. Taste
6. Temperature
7. Kinaesthesia (knowing where your body parts are)
8. Balance (knowing your orientation WRT gravity)
9. Gravity/acceleration (astronauts report that this is a distinct sense which you only realise when you're deprived of gravity)
Borderline:
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9. Thought
10. Pain
11. Bodily feelings which are neither touch, nor pressure, pain etc... (e.g. emotions)
Posted by Giles at 20.08.07 09:45
Comments
my understanding is that the counting of the senses is (indeed implicitly) based on wetware that interfaces with the environment. So in that "sense" the senses are indeed 5 or 6 (if we count the brain's alleged paranormal ability to somehow interface with the environment, see: PEAR). Observe:
1. of the eyes
2. of the ears, including balance and maybe part kinaesthesia
3. of the peripheral nervous system, including pain, temperature and kinaesthesia
4. of the nose
5. of the tongue
Both emotions and thought are internal (or at least of internal origin) and therefore I think cannot be part of what we call senses in the "sense" I described above.
Posted by: Fotios at 21.08.07 19:34
comments do not accept anchor tags so here is the PEAR link: http://www.princeton.edu/~pear/
Posted by: Fotios at 21.08.07 19:51