I find myself mystified by basic human ability. Homo sapiens, being a relatively young species on this Earth, have found themselves perched at the top of the hierarchy of beings. There are various opinions on how we got to be in this dominant position based off of religion or science, but I have yet to form a stance on this that I would be confident in sharing. What I am more concerned with are some of the basic functions that we humans share to varying degrees with the rest of the animal kingdom. My interest lies in the five main senses, and because these senses differ greatly in ability and use from genus to genus, I will speak only from the perspective with which I have personal experience.
I have been fortunate enough to maintain the ability of all of my senses. I am ever grateful for my sense of vision. The eyes are able to perceive imagery, they detect light which I perceive as colors and carrying degrees of brightness. These images are quickly processed by my brain all for me to understand the picture that lies before me. My sense of sight rarely fails me and allows me to experience the works of Da Vinci, the breathtaking view from the overlook of Piney Point, and even allows for the examination of my own bodily form. The eyes are powerful. I understand that there are those that do not have the same visionary advantages that I have, I am sure that they have unique and beautiful methods for experiencing the world around them. This is a life that I have yet to undergo, so I will simply be thankful for this sense that I do have.
Olfaction, more informally referred to as scent,is the ability to detect odor particles in the air. As a child I suffered from very severe allergies, for much of my youth my sense of smell was somewhat impaired. At that point in my life, I would have been the perfect advocate to spread the message that scent is one of the less important senses. However, as I grew older and underwent immunotherapy, I was able to obtain the use of my nose. I can now say that my initial delegitimizing of this sense was incorrect. Studies have shown that smell is the sense that most vividly provokes memory, and in my experiences this would be correct. The smell of a burning cigar will forever remind of my father. From sitting on the heart pine porch of our home in Sewanee, to standing in the crystal white Ohio snow during a seemingly never ending traffic stop, I can picture him in his black and grey flannel, Macunado in hand, calmly puffing the white-grey smoke into the starry sky.
The sense of gustation, or taste, is one of the most intriguing to me. Perhaps what I am speaking of would be better described as the sense of flavor, which would be the perception of such tastes. In diverse areas of the world, different flavors appeal to adapted taste buds. I consider myself a somewhat adventurous eater, I am open to trying new foods especially when it relates to culture. While I was staying in Finland, the difference in cuisine was noticeable. The people there have a greater capacity for salted meats and more robust tasting vegetables. My uncle from Thailand, as well as his native family, enjoys foods with spice, devouring raw peppers and asian dishes that will make the consumer perspire from heat. The sense of taste allows humans to have a great ability, and give them the power to determine what a substance is before allowing it into their digestive system.
The sense of audition, or hearing, is probably the sense with which I have done the most research. From an early age, I was fascinated by the beauty of American Sign Language. I was introduced to this language by my mother. She worked with the hearing impaired throughout her life and was able to develop basic levels of understanding in ASL. This was the beginning of my growing interest in it which eventually lead to my own simplistic level of fluency. Because of this interest, I looked into how our body perceives sound and what it means to be deaf. What it breaks down to is our detection of vibrations and frequencies by which we are surrounded. Although in hearing people this is detected primarily through the ear, those that have been determined to be deaf have not completely lost this ability. These vibrations can still be felt by the hearing impaired, primarily in music. This is, once again, something that I have not personally experienced.
Finally, somatosensory, or touch, completes this circle of the five senses. How lucky am I to be able to physically experience this world. I live for the feeling of the wind, blowing against my face on a crisp fall morning. Cold unceasing rain, falling on my soft skin is an undeniable joy. And how intricate and complex is my body to physically tell me that I am in danger when I touch something that is too hot, my nerves working with my brain to keep me from harm. The body is amazing and this is in its most basic form. It is to be respected and awed at, every body is beautiful. We are complex creatures with awesome ability.
