5 senses indeed!!!

[Andromeda]

Why do they say that humans have 5 senses??? - what about balance??? i mean - we have eyes to see and ears to hear ect... but what about that liquid in your ear that swirls about and tells you if youre upside down/spinning around/still ect??? Originally posted by muse.v+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(muse.v)</div> hmm... i agree. * i think we've got hundreds of little internal sensory systems that dont fit into the basic five... just no one can be bothered remembering them. * what about the sense of gravity... where does that go? sense of time... sense of reality... hunger? thirst... * the body must have some sort of internal time system otherwise we couldn't train ourselves to wake up on schedule...[/b] <!--QuoteBegin-Xisdence You know that's a really good question? * There is probally some anoyying/smart person/definition out there with a reason as to why though. But touch or smell, any of our senses, seem as reasonable as hunger to be named.

[Kaniaz]

Mere technicality. It was shortened to 5 for simplicity. I learnt the "5 senses" when I was in the first school (just "above" kindergarden). No child in their right mind would learn every single sense, because they don't need to know them all. Sense of hunger, sense of danger, sense of pain. You know, all that stuff. It's shortened because a long list of senses would be highly impratical for anybody to learn, unless they were a doctor. As with the case of a garden spade, or a watering can, simple things tend to work and "stick".

[sephiroth clock]

The five senses are the main physical receptors. they are what we use to probe and process the world around us. Anything else is more instinctive to help us survive. Or just natural impulses to help us maintain homeostasis.

[wasup]

hehe you said homeo

[Waymaker]

There is a difference between "Homosexual" and "Homeostasis", jackass.

[Taosaur]

Yeah, homeostasis involves a goat.

[ThomasELEN]

Just as the standard 5 senses apply to humans and the physical world, I wish there was a standard for psychic senses. I'm sure there are many psychic powers out there that could fit into a general category just like sight, for example. It'll be cool if for example, deja vu abilities are in the precognition category and levatation is in the energy exertion category.

[Stevehattan]

I don't know, I think there are really just those 5 proven senses that allow the brain to analyze its surroundings, and everything else (feelings, emotions, instincts) is just the brain's interpretation of the feedback from those senses. For example, "sense of danger" isn't really a sense, but a feeling you get when the senses pick up on something that could be potentially harmful. Also, abilities aren't to be confused with senses, like ^levitation. Pretty much what sephiroth clock said. I suppose something like hunger might count as a seperate sense, but that's within the body as opposed to outside so it's not really in the same category.

[LewisM]

I agree, Steve, that things such as 'sense of danger' shouldn't be included with the five senses. However, I do think balance should (btw good point, Andromeda). I think a definition might be handy. I've always thought that 'the senses' are the ways in which we interpret the world around us.

[Ja_]

what about the sixth sense?

[CT]

Thats just a persisting lie?

[Dragon]

Thats just a persisting lie? I dont feel like arguing on this point, but the hollywood version of the 6th sense is a lie (seeing dead people blah blah blah), not the real thing..[/quote]

[Taosaur]

I think a lot of "sixth sense" knowledge is based on extrapolation from the basic five, +experience. Mind-reading, for instance, is easy if you learn to pick up on non-verbal signals, and learn to categorize experience under some general types. You read a person's signals, figure out what "type" of experience they're having, extract general details about their life, and pretty soon you're able to zero in and tell them what they're thinking more convincingly than they could tell you. Precognition, likewise, can be managed by taking the available sensory data and running a simulation. Even out of body experiences could be a highly-detailed simulation of external conditions. I've exhibited all of the above "sixth sense" abilities (very limited OBEs, fairly advanced precognition, and rather reliable and startling mind-reading), but I would still say that I am isolated by the basic senses (throw in balance if you want). I think with just these tools and the computing power of the mind, you can know anything you're willing to know. As for "miracles," it's a matter of seeing the opportunities when they arise--they're built into the system. Just MHO (slightly slurred).

[muse.v]

the five are just the obvious senses, that are visible on the outside. some like "sense of danger" are mixtures of multiple senses, not ones on their own. also some are not really senses they're just the end feeling / result. things like dejavu, precongition fall into the ESP category because they're not from the senses. they are from extra sensory perception, hence the name. balance / gravity is definetly one. another is the sense of where your limbs are, or what position they're in. this is a sense, dont argue

[sephiroth clock]

The sense of danger for example is ultimately a nerve function or sense of touch. It's the funny feeling that we get in out stomach. Or the adrenaline rush. Or the tenseness in our body, all of these we feel. These other "sense" could not exsist without the five basic senses.

[muse.v]

i was thinking of 'sense of danger' as being more along the lines of smell, hearing and body languadge, past experience and such. its more of a sensation than a sense. same goes for adrelaline, its just chemical reactions that make your heart and lungs pump faster. more of a sensation than a sense.

[Tsen]

Senses are anything that provides INPUT to the brain. Not inferrences, as they're an internal process of the mind. So, there's TONS of senses. Some are subtle, and not worth naming. It's like a bunch of meters in your mind, they each have a purpose, but some are clearly more important than others. Like the senses that keep monitor your heartbeat, they're usually kept subconscious because your brain doesn't have the time to read the input consciously, so therefore it is almost always regulated and monitored in the less active parts of the mind.