Raven Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 Hearing, sight, touch, smell, and taste. How would you rank them in importance to you? 1. Touch 2. Sight 3. Hearing 4. Taste 5. Smell I put touch on top, because without it aren't we basically paralysed with no real control over our own body motion including speech? We wouldn't know when we feel hungry, for one thing. I love having my eyesight, and I think it is by far one of the most important things needed to live a natural life, moreso than any of the other senses. Whenever I see someone who is blind, I think kudos to them for managing without sight. Hearing. I think it is quite important, but whatever is lacking in hearing can be made up in sight, such as communicating in text or sign language. However, I would be very upset should I suddenly lose my hearing, because I enjoy listening to music and such. Taste is nice, but really not necessary in my eyes. I'm sure we'd all manage just fine even if we couldn't taste what we put into our mouths. Smell is even less necessary. It's a nice touch, but really I see no real need for it. What's your thoughts and such on the topic of the five senses? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Original Alear Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 In order to gain the psychic powers of the Mu Training in Dalaam, I would give up all five of my senses. I put sight above touch, otherwise mine are ordered the same as yours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celice Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 (edited) We have more sense than just the five though ;) I never try to rank them, but everyone always disses smell... when smell is usually the first thing you realize, and also tied pretty fucking-powerfully to your sense of memories. Its an incredibly existential sense that attaches you more directly to your environment than many realise. and for touch, the sense is more based in its perception, not its function. You wouldn't be fumbling anything. You just wouldn't have an acute reaction to things, like temperature or texture. Think if it as if your arm was just eternally asleep. It wouldn't be unusable, just much less dexterous. Edited January 21, 2012 by Celice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inactive Account Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 (edited) Yeah, "touch" is a big oversimplification-- thermoception (temperature), nociception (pain), balance, proprioception (sensing where your body parts are in relation to one another) are all separate from it, as well as interoception (senses related to organ functions, including hunger/fullness). Touch, by contrast, is basically sensing pressure. So as an example of how it works: proprioception tells me I'm in a sitting position, balance tells me I'm right-side up, pain tells me that I probably shouldn't be sitting with my ankle at the wrong angle, and touch just tells me that my feet and butt have pressure on them corresponding to my weight, and also the textures of the things I'm in contact with based on the different distributions of pressure on my skin. I dunno if I'd specifically rank senses, more of just cluster them together and rank the clusters-- pain, proprioception, and all the things people frequently forget to mention when senses are discussed go first, because they're the hardest to compensate for, followed by vision/hearing/touch because I'd get really frustrated and panicked at losing any of those, followed by taste because losing it would just be kind of miserable, then smell. I don't really have anything against olfaction in general, and I understand how it impacts other things, but I personally could probably do without it because different smells do nasty things to my processing issues (so do various visual and auditory inputs, but I like the ability to see where I'm going and communicate better than the ability to smell.) ETA: The brain is pretty good at reconfiguring itself to account for the absence of different abilities, so I don't really think that losing a given sense would be a life-ruiner. Some would just be more difficult to compensate for than others (proprioception especially), or frustrating to me (vision and hearing, as an artist and musician). Edited January 21, 2012 by kdanger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrashGordon94 Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 I'd rank mine about the same, I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Posted January 21, 2012 Author Share Posted January 21, 2012 In that sense, I would probably rank Touch below Sight and Hearing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snapdragon Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 (edited) Sight (without sight all my hobbies are moot and I'd be miserable), touch, hearing, smell, taste (we have best buy dates now so unless someone is trying to kill you... Food would be less fun though) Edited for nonsensical spelling. Edited January 21, 2012 by Snapdragon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenix Wright Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 (edited) Sight = touch = hearing > smell > taste I would give up some of the potency of the last two senses if it meant my senses of sight and touch became more potent. Edited January 22, 2012 by Phoenix Wright Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rehab Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Losing my sight would most bereave me of the ability to enjoy what I do now, but for some reason the idea of constant silence is a bit more frightening. I'm certainly in no hurry to throw any of them away, but I almost find the idea of losing my sense of balance, pressure and pain interesting, or rather how I might act without them. I almost wish losing my senses of taste was an option, because then I could finally give up my hangups on fish and nuts and stuff and eat healthy. :F Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ciarre Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Sight Touch Hearing Smell Taste Taste is by far the least important for me. If I lost my sense of taste, maybe I'd actually eat healthy shit. Smell is a bit more important to me since I like smelling things and it just wouldn't be right if I couldn't smell my feet after I take my shoes off :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NinjaMonkey Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 (edited) For me, Sight > Hearing > Touch > Taste > Smell. Edited January 22, 2012 by NinjaMonkey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geriba Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 (edited) Yeah, "touch" is a big oversimplification-- thermoception (temperature), nociception (pain), balance, proprioception (sensing where your body parts are in relation to one another) are all separate from it, as well as interoception (senses related to organ functions, including hunger/fullness). Touch, by contrast, is basically sensing pressure. This is the exact reason why everybody can't stand science types. Touch is touch, and if you want to subdivide it, then you're free to do so; but it's not an "oversimplification" to refer to what has since antiquity been understood as a single sense, and to post with that dumb condescension reeks of pretention. Anyway, my rank: -Sound -Sight -Sense -Smell -Taste EDIT: Also, Taste is by far the least important for me. If I lost my sense of taste, maybe I'd actually eat healthy shit. lmao! So true Edited January 22, 2012 by God Brady Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celice Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 This is the exact reason why everybody can't stand science types. Touch is touch, and if you want to subdivide it, then you're free to do so; but it's not an "oversimplification" to refer to what has since antiquity been understood as a single sense, and to post with that dumb condescension reeks of pretention. Since antiquity, people have wondered how the fuck we can be aware of ourselves spatially without any stimulus to indicate position. It's not understood to be a single sense--it's understood that many senses, should we try to categorize, exist entirely separate of other sense. One need not have sensations of touch to know where they are in relation to their physical environment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geriba Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 (edited) Since antiquity, people have wondered how the fuck we can be aware of ourselves spatially without any stimulus to indicate position. It's not understood to be a single sense--it's understood that many senses, should we try to categorize, exist entirely separate of other sense. One need not have sensations of touch to know where they are in relation to their physical environment. You're missing the point. The TC asked a pretty straightforward question about ranking the five senses, and then that other dude decided he was going to overintellectualize the issue and link together "touch," as it's traditionally understood, with a number of other cognitive-spatial phenomena-- as if just saying "touch" makes you seem unintelligent or misinformed. It's ridiculous, it's awkward, and it had no real place in this topic. It's not even correct. EDIT: And maybe I should give kd some slack, since you were the one who decided to change the topic's direction with this little gem: We have more sense than just the five though ;) You know what he meant. Or did you just want to sound smarter than everybody? Edited January 22, 2012 by God Brady Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenix Wright Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 You're missing the point. The TC asked a pretty straightforward question about ranking the five senses, and then that other dude decided he was going to overintellectualize the issue and link together "touch," as it's traditionally understood, with a number of other cognitive-spatial phenomena-- as if just saying "touch" makes you seem unintelligent or misinformed. It's ridiculous, it's awkward, and it had no real place in this topic. It's not even correct. EDIT: And maybe I should give kd some slack, since you were the one who decided to change the topic's direction with this little gem: You know what he meant. Or did you just want to sound smarter than everybody? I think you're overreacting. Take it down a notch; it seems that you're the only one disgruntled by their posts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lux Aeterna Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 There are actually ten senses, but let's go with the main five. In ascending order of importance, it's: Smell - Tragedy, now things don't smell bad Taste - Okay so eating sucks but it doesn't get in the way, and now you get your nutrition! Hearing - This starts to get difficult... But there's sign language. Sight - It's a visual world. You wouldn't be reading this text if you were blind. Touch - Have fun living in a world where you have no sense of boundaries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aere Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Touch is by far the most important of the senses. Assuming all of those categories are lumped together, the loss of those would make life feel like a waking dream. A waking nightmare, actually. Imagine living in a world where you could not feel your interactions, and you were floating in space for your entire life. You could never get stronger, you could never feel pleasure or understand if your body is in danger. Sight comes next. Assuming one doesn't possess incredibly heightened hearing and smell, I would find loss of sight unbearable. Imagine never seeing your children or your parents, never putting a face to the name. The mind cannot create an image from nothing, and if one was born blind, he would never know what the sun, or grass, or water looks like. Hearing comes third. I do not know what deafness feels like, and I cannot comprehend what the world would be if it was completely silent. Even silence has that "sound", that resonation. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. The rest aren't necessary for function. Humans are not smell or taste dependent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whase Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 sight - all my hobbies require me to see what I'm doing, I'd find it horrible to lose all my hobbies at once. touch - dunno, just don't think I can live without it hearing - losing the ability to play guitar and listen to music isn't nice, though I do like some silence, and sign language looks interesting taste - it's hard to keep eating without it, I guess. but the food I do eat would at least be healthy food. smell - I don't have a good nose to start with and hate most things I do smell. I never liked the smell of flowers or anything, so I wouldn't miss that. And I'd be happy to not smell cigarettes and those kind of things ever again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Posted January 22, 2012 Author Share Posted January 22, 2012 Touch is by far the most important of the senses. Assuming all of those categories are lumped together, the loss of those would make life feel like a waking dream. A waking nightmare, actually. Imagine living in a world where you could not feel your interactions, and you were floating in space for your entire life. You could never get stronger, you could never feel pleasure or understand if your body is in danger. Yes, this is exactly what I tried to explain in the OP, and why I ranked it top of all the senses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rehab Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 This is the exact reason why everybody can't stand science types. Touch is touch, and if you want to subdivide it, then you're free to do so; but it's not an "oversimplification" to refer to what has since antiquity been understood as a single sense, and to post with that dumb condescension reeks of pretention. I thought it was pretty interesting, myself, actually. I like having my illusions played with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geriba Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 I think you're overreacting. Take it down a notch; it seems that you're the only one disgruntled by their posts. Trust me, I'm not angry. If I come across that way, it's because I'm a pretty passionate guy. If a conversation doesn't involve some level of fireworks, it's not a good conversation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zkirsche Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Sight > Hearing = Touch > Taste > Smell Both touch and hearing are very important, but going blind would pretty much mean the end of everything I love in an instant. Even if touch is all the things that kiryz listed, I'd take not knowing where my hands and feet are to not being able to do normal stuff with my friends. Also, my education would be ruined as i need to see something to understand it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aleph Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 (edited) everything is just feeling so I rank feel at the top and everything else at the top because they're the same thing Edited January 23, 2012 by Obviam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zanarkin Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 I'm almost blind without my glasses... Hearing > sight> Smell = Taste >touch although i truly don't feel the senses can be ranked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lux Aeterna Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 (edited) All of you who aren't ranking touch as the most important, just think about this one for a second. Pretend you're in a video game. You can't feel where there are boundaries. You have to see them, and understand they're there to not hit them. Okay, so in a video game, that's fine, as every move with your arrow pad or whatever makes you move a very specific measurement. Real life? People don't move in set measurements. You'd have to memorize how far you'd move. And if your body was any more tired than normal, the amount of force you'd know to apply would be cut in half. Except you don't know when you're physically tired. You'll just suddenly notice that you're unable to do some things. So no sense of boundaries and in some cases, no sense of movement. Now let's add this in with the fact that you could be standing on lava and not know it. Eventually your facilities there will be so damaged that you cannot use them, all because they got so damaged without your knowing. Unless you're /extremely/ careful, you're going to be dead really quickly. Edited February 1, 2012 by Lux Aeterna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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