Form 2 ( Chapter 1 The World Through Our Senses )

Sensing the World Around You

The way we determine what is in the world around us is by detecting and processing different signals or forms of energy through our senses. Humans seem to be able to sense at least eight forms of energy. What is sensed in each is limited to a narrow bandwidth. The human senses also require a sufficient amount of energy to work properly.

Attention: the shining torch

Our attention is like a torch, shining into areas where we are interested. We move our body, turn our head, and in doing so we focus and limit what is available for our senses.

There are two zones of attention: the real zone of close is very small. For example at any one time we visually focus on only a spot about an inch in diameter. We also have a much broader zone of awareness, although much of this is actually filled in later by our very helpful brains.

Men and women tend to be different in the focus of attention they follow. Men typically will focus on one thing at one time. For example when they are watching a football match, their ears will seem to 'turn off'. Women can do more things at once, watching a television program whilst holding a conversation and maybe even doing some knitting. This is not a item of gender bias: it comes from the different way our brains are wired.

Five basic senses

The five basic senses, the energy form detected, and their related body parts are:

1. Sight - Light energy detected by the eyes
2. Hearing - Sound energy detected by the ears
3. Smell - Chemical energy and shape of molecules detected by the nose
4. Taste - Chemical energy detected by the tongue
5. Touch - Pressure energy detected by the skin

Action	Senses	Sensory Organs	Stimulus
Eating	Sense of Taste	Tongue	Taste
Listening	Sense of Hearing	Ear	Sound
Looking	Sense of Sight	Eyes	Light
Touching	Sense of Touch	Skin	Touch
Smelling	Sense of Smell	Nose	Smell

Common preferences

Some people have a preference for visual signals (and will hence direct their attention this way). This is probably the most popular preference, as the world is literally always in your face. People who are blind are more impaired and have more problems adapting than those who have lost their other senses.

Other people are more attuned to the sounds around them, often in particular the intonation of others' voices. They may find more pleasure in music and are able to distinguish finer note divisions.

So What?

So find out what senses to which they may most attention and then provide a proportionate amount of information to those senses.

You can even reach from one sense to the other. For example, to a person who has a visual preference, you can use words like 'look', 'see', 'bright', 'blue' and so on.

Use smells subtly. Always make sure you do not smell unpleasant (ask a friend). Use a good cologne. Use breath freshener if necessary, although beware of over-use. Subtly means that the other person should not consciously detect your smells, other than perhaps an occasional pleasant whiff.