Name: Sentient
ISBN: 9781529030785

Jackie Higgins

What Animals Reveal about Our Senses

Sentient

This indeed WAS revealing :0 

Previously, I came to learn some of the senses introduced here by random chances; circadian rhythm for Nyayens, magnetic sensing in bacterial taxis, pheromones all over the media, and balancing and body sensing in Oliver Sack's books. Most of them don't look that novel at a glance. Never have I imagined that they can be clubbed into the classic 5 senses, especially in humans. I think animals are awesome for having extra senses, but we actually do too?? What a great day to feel like a superhuman HAHAH. But of course, if such functions are present in simpler organisms, and very universally beneficial at that, why would we shed them as we evolve? Well, apparently, we don't. Now this book attempts to summarize the latest findings of whopping 12 senses in both human and non-human creatures. But we're mostly unconscious of lots of these novel senses, and who knows if there is more news to come! 

Some of the coolest things I noted:
- Octopuses actually don't have a sense of body and just operate based on how their body looks like after they move them????
- We have taste receptors all over our body (but with different responses)???
- Ballerinas don't get dizzy because they've trained their brains to know their position without the help of internal balancing devices :000
- I used to think that it's very cool of athletes to be able to intuit physics in action and execute the complex movements they plan accordingly. But that's only possible because they know where their body parts are. Adding that up to what seems intricate already, just imagine the thought process behind all this! Just to kick a ball or spin while skating! 

In this euphoria, I got especially hyperaware of my sense of body. Not that anything's different, but I'm so so happy to find my toes right there at the end of my feet and my back touching the fabric of my clothes. I can even pretty accurately find my pimples with my fingers without looking. Doesn't having things you take for granted unfolded and laid bare allow you to appreciate every single part (well, that's your everyday science ofc!)? For real, this book will give you 1000 more reasons to marvel at the extent of evolution, brain function, and high-dimensionality of the perceivable world. I'm honestly still in constant awe. It's a pretty overwhelming feeling, like being able to listen to sounds or see color for the first time. Sungguh tafakkur material 🥺🥺

Sentient What Animals Reveal about Our Senses