Do You Believe in ESP

Ha... this is getting eerie.....I knew you would know that.

.....touche'

It's hard to discuss extra sensory matters without an understanding of what senses we already have. The common misconception, prevalent since Aristotle first proposed it, is that humans have just five.

However...

Depending on how we define a sense, it's now thought that humans have somewhere between 9 and 21 senses. The actual number is debatable, especially if your definition includes subsets of another sense. Nevertheless, some of the obvious extra senses are:

Equilibrioception: This is, basically, our sense of balance/equilibrium. Together with the rising cost of alcohol, it's what mostly stops us falling over while walking and standing.

Proprioception: This is the sense that helps us be aware of the position of our own body parts. If you close your eyes and move your hand around, you'll know where it is without using any of the "five" senses. It also means you can eat in the dark (and sense where your mouth is).

Thermoception: This is our sense of (relative) temperature. We're able to sense the warmth of a fire, for example, without actually touching it. If we describe the weather as "too hot", that's thermoception in action.

Nociception: Our sense of pain. If you've ever listened to a Pat Boone record, you'll know that this sense is separate and distinct from our sense of touch.

There are others, such as hunger, thirst, direction etc, that are subject to ongoing debate. But the one thing most physiologists agree on is that five is the wrong number. (Sorry, Aristotle. And fyi, there are more than four elements, too :p).

Also, given that there are several senses we know animals have that humans don't (electroception - detecting electric fields; magnetoception - detecting magnetic fields; plus echolocation, infrared vision etc.), it's not unreasonable to suppose that some of us may still carry traces of senses employed by our distant ancestors that are dormant in the present day human.

Hope all that makes sense.


Frank

I fully agree. I'm not into psychic "stuff" but I know from experience you can have a "connectedness" with another person that operates as ESP. It's not a big leap to believe some people are tuned in. I've experienced it. I've also seen some things with my animals that made me realize they use more senses than I do.

kay

So, when is Pat Boone's album of gangsta rap covers coming out?

I'm confused Jim, are you a masochist or a sadist?