Some scientists propose we have more then five senses -- and that makes a lot of sense to me.

  • Proprioception is the ability to tell where your body parts are in relation to other body parts. This is what an officer tests for when he has you touch your nose in a DUI check.
  • Nociception is the sense of pain. This used to be lumped together with touch (along with thermal sense) but pain is different from touch.
  • Equilibrioception is the sense of balance. It's not sight, it's not touch. Shouldn't it be a "sixth sense"?
  • Hunger and thirst. Your body has the ability to sense a need for more nourishment but it's not by touch. Should this and other chemical sensors in your body be considered another sense?
  • Time. Does your ability to sense the passage of time count as a sense?

Our definition of the five senses dates back to the ancient Greeks. Much of what they taught about biology, physics, astronomy and chemistry turned out to be wrong. Why do we still put up with their definition of "senses"?

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