A quotation from Hannah Arendt

Nothing we use or hear or touch can be expressed in words that equal what is given by the senses.

Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) German-American philosopher, political theorist
Life of the Mind, Vol. 1 “Thinking,” Introduction (1977)

More about this quote: wist.info/arendt-hannah/10161/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #arendt #hannaharendt #hearing #language #perception #sensation #senses #sight #touch #vocabulary #words

Arendt, Hannah - Life of the Mind, Vol. 1 "Thinking," Introduction (1977) | WIST Quotations

Nothing we use or hear or touch can be expressed in words that equal what is given by the senses. Also printed as an essay (1977-11-14), "Thinking -- I," The New Yorker (1977-11-21).

WIST Quotations

A new educational video about the concept of senses is out. In the video, I explain what the difference between senses and feelings is, how many senses we actually have, and how we gain them in everyday life.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-6KmVdzrATI

#sociologyconcepts #senses #inequality #sociology

What are senses? | Key Concepts Series

YouTube

🦇 Humans show bat-like skills using mouth-click echolocation

(... and where is the bat-man?)

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-humans-skills-mouth-click-echolocation.html

#senses #echolocation #ability #research #bats

Humans show bat-like skills using mouth-click echolocation

It may sound like a scene from "Nosferatu," but research from the University of East Anglia shows that humans can use bat-like echolocation skills to judge the distance of objects. The new study reveals that, just like bats navigating in the dark, humans too can rely on the echoes of mouth clicks to gauge how far away objects are. While humans may not match the precision of these nocturnal navigators, the study, published in Experimental Brain Research, shows that with simple tools like mouth clicks, we can tap into a surprisingly effective form of spatial awareness.

Smell-O-Vision failed because the smell lingered when it should have cleared. Individual seat nozzles, 30 distinct scents, Jack Cardiff directing. You'd be smelling gun smoke during the romance scene.

The only version that worked: John Waters' 1981 Odorama scratch-and-sniff card. You scratch when you want to. The audience controls the smell.

Also: Oscar Wilde proposed perfume orchestras for Salome in 1892. "Arpeggios of thyme and lavender." 70 years before anyone tried to build it.

(Cabinet Magazine, Issue 64)

#cinema #senses #history #smellOVision

Real intelligence needs senses and time to learn through experience.

#ai #senses #learning

Consider "sensorium", a word that describes both the physiological process whereby we interpret the sensory information and stimuli we receive, and the cultural process wherein we derive understanding from our senses.

Today, Sensorium is the name of a digital entertainment company that promises to move your "real-life experiences" to the virtual world via "revolutionizing digital communications through a sense of presence."

#quotes
#senses
#VR
#Sensorium

I'm a supertaster. You might be one too; about one in four people is a supertaster. We have more taste buds than the average, so our senses of smell and taste are more keen - sometimes *considerably* more keen.

That's not always a good thing. In my case, I was constantly reproached and mocked for being a picky eater. It caused me quite a bit of grief. It wasn't until much later in life that I found out that there was a physical cause for what I (and the rest of my family) had always assumed was because I was "difficult".

Some supertasters really suffer a lot. Perfumes can be unbearable for them (personally I like perfume). They can be incredibly limited in what they can eat, even more than I was.

On the other hand, there can be plusses, too. I often find it hard to understand how normal tasters can miss out on so much of their environment. For me, the world is *filled* with interesting smells. Sometimes I wonder if in that regard I'm a bit more like a dog or cat!

My sense of taste and smell have been a huge help with cooking. I'm a pretty good cook; I like to experiment and develop new recipes.

Also I could never stand the taste of alcohol. My family used to try to sneak alcohol into my drinks sometimes, but I always detected it instantly. I don't know if I would have had any tendency towards alcoholism (the rest of my family likes to drink, except for my son), but I think it's safe to say that I'm never going to find out.

I also seem to be highly resistant to the effects of alcohol. My ex-wife once twisted my arm to drink three glasses of wine in a row; they had no effect at all. Medications are the same way; after surgery once I was given a triple dose of Percodan. It had absolutely no effect, and the doctors were stunned. They said even an elephant would have felt the dose they gave me.

Anyway, if you're curious about the phenomenon of supertasting you can read about it here.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supertaster

There's a simple test you can do to find out if you're a supertaster, but if you ARE one, you'll probably already know it on some level.

#Supertaster #Taste #Smell #Senses

Supertaster - Wikipedia

“The senses are the gateway to the soul.”

– Unknown

#quote #senses