Podcast Summary
Our senses provide essential nutrients to our souls: Our senses, including interoception, shape our perception of the world and provide essential knowledge, with debated numbers of primary senses but agreed importance.
Our senses play a crucial role in shaping our perception of the world and acquiring knowledge. While we typically think of five primary senses - sight, touch, taste, smell, and hearing - there's ongoing debate about whether there are other, less defined senses. For instance, some researchers propose the existence of a sense of the body's internal state, called interoception, which includes sensations of hunger, thirst, and stress. Additionally, some theories suggest reducing all senses to three basic types: light and chemical sensations for sight and smell, and mechanical sensations for touch and hearing. Regardless of the exact number, it's clear that our senses provide essential nutrients to our souls, much like food nourishes our bodies. So, as we continue to explore the mysteries of the universe, let us remember that all knowledge, in some way, comes through our senses.
Understanding Proprioception: The Sixth Sense: Proprioception is a lesser-known sense that allows us to sense our body's position in space, crucial for everyday tasks, and its absence can make simple tasks challenging.
Our bodies have more senses than the five we commonly know – touch, taste, sight, hearing, and smell. One such sense is proprioception, which allows us to sense where our bodies are in space. This can be demonstrated by touching an object with our eyes open, then closing them and trying to locate the same object. For individuals who lack proprioception, everyday tasks can be challenging. During an experiment at the National Institutes of Health, a woman named Sana, who had this condition, struggled to find objects in space with her eyes closed. Her inability to sense her body's position in space made simple tasks like touching a ball or walking in a straight line difficult. Understanding the importance of proprioception and its role in our daily lives sheds light on the complexity and interconnectedness of our sensory systems.
Women with missing piezo2 receptor struggle with proprioception: Women without piezo2 receptor face challenges with body awareness and light touch sensation
The women who lacked a specific receptor called piezo2, which is responsible for sensing mechanical forces and initiating signals in the nervous system, experienced significant difficulties with proprioception - the sense of the body and its relation to space. This condition made it challenging for them to walk with their eyes closed, and they described feeling lost or disoriented when their eyes were shut. The piezo2 receptor is also involved in touch sensation, adding to the complexity of understanding this sensory system. These women, despite having normal touch sensation, were unable to sense light touch due to the absence of this receptor. This discovery sheds light on the intricate relationship between different senses and the crucial role of specific receptors in our perception of the world.
The Senses are More Interconnected Than We Realize: Research shows that touch, like other senses, is complex and interconnected, making it challenging to separate distinct senses entirely. Our brains adapt and create alternative senses when one is lost.
Our senses, though we often think of them as distinct, are more interconnected and complex than we realize. The researchers in the study discussed explored the various components of touch, including sharp pain, and found it challenging to separate these senses entirely. This phenomenon is not unique to touch; similar complexities exist in other senses like taste, where distinguishing taste from scent or texture can be difficult. Even hearing, as previously discussed, is not just a matter of receiving sound waves but also involves the brain's interpretation and construction of sounds. The women in the NIH study, who had limited senses of gentle touch and proprioception, could still experience sharp pain and compensate by using their vision. This shows the brain's remarkable ability to adapt and create alternative senses when one is lost. Overall, our understanding of the senses is continually evolving, and it's essential to appreciate their intricacies and overlaps.
The interconnectedness of our senses: The brain integrates various inputs from our senses to create a singular consciousness, challenging the notion of distinct categories. Our senses offer a tiny fraction of the vast array of information available to us.
Our senses do not function in isolation but rather blend together to create our overall perception of the world. The example of the sisters with tongue implants demonstrates how one sense can influence and even compensate for another, challenging the notion that we experience the world in distinct categories. The brain's ability to integrate various inputs and create a singular consciousness is a remarkable and mysterious process that feels like magic. Our senses, including those beyond the five commonly recognized ones, offer only a tiny fraction of the vast array of information available to us. This was further emphasized by the discussion of how team Milk supports female marathon runners by highlighting the importance of milk as a source of essential nutrients for training and recovery. Ultimately, the interconnectedness of our senses and the vastness of the world we can perceive serve as a reminder of the incredible capabilities of the human brain.
Beyond our sensory limitations: Despite only being able to perceive a small fraction of the universe, dark matter's role in galaxy formation and technological advancements help us explore beyond our senses
Our senses only allow us to perceive a tiny fraction of the entire universe, and most of it remains hidden from us. We're unable to sense over 99% of the electromagnetic spectrum, and 95% of the universe is made up of dark matter and dark energy, which we can't detect using our current senses. However, this doesn't mean that these hidden aspects of the universe are useless. Dark matter, for instance, plays a crucial role in holding galaxies together. To explore the universe beyond our sensory limitations, scientists are expanding our senses through technology, such as telescopes that can detect infrared radiation and study the beginnings of our organized universe. Our senses are attuned to what's useful to us on Earth, but with technological advancements, we can extend our reach and gain new insights into the vast, mysterious universe.
Exploring knowledge beyond our senses: The universe may hold other forms of intelligence and ways of knowing beyond our human senses. We should remain curious and continue exploring the unknown, despite our current limitations.
Our senses are the primary means by which we acquire knowledge, but there may be other ways of knowing that exist beyond our human experience. We can expand our sensory capabilities through technology, but there could be other forms of intelligence in the universe that acquire knowledge through different methods. We are currently limited in our understanding, but this intellectual humility should motivate us to be curious and continue exploring the unknown. The universe is vast and complex, and we are only able to perceive a small fraction of it through our senses. However, this limited perspective should not discourage us, but rather inspire us to keep asking questions and seeking answers. The tension between what we can know and what remains inaccessible to us is what drives scientific discovery and innovation.
Exploring the Unexplained: A Series by Vox: This series delves into unexplained phenomena, emphasizing the importance of questioning the unknown. From ghosts to synesthesia, each episode brings the unexplained to life.
Key takeaway from this series of Making Sense is the exploration of unexplained phenomena and the importance of questioning the unknown. From ghost sightings and alien encounters to sleep paralysis and synesthesia, each episode delved into the depths of the unexplainable. The team at Vox, including Brian Resnick, Noam Hassenfeld, Catherine Wells, Meredith Hodnot, Christian Ayala, Noam, Richard Sima, Tory Dominguez, Manding Wen, and Bird Pinkerton, worked together to bring these stories to life. If you missed any episodes, you can find them, along with additional articles, on vox.com/unexplainable. Your feedback is appreciated, whether it be through email, a review, or a rating. Until next week, where we'll bring you more unexplained nonsense, keep questioning the unknown.
