We
all were taught in school that humans have five senses. They are sound,
sight, touch, smell and taste. Now forget what you studied and give it a
serious thought. Do humans really have just five senses? By definition,
senses are feelings that allow you to navigate your environment. In
reality, people do have more than five senses.
We have a central nervous system, which is made up of the brain, spinal cord and retina. The nervous system has an area dedicated to each sense. Apart from the five traditional abilities, humans can sense high and low temperatures, balance, acceleration, body and limb position, pain, sense of time, itching, pressure, hunger, thirst, fullness of the stomach, need to urinate, need to vomit, defecate and blood carbon dioxide levels.
The senses of hearing, sight, touch, smell and taste were originally taught by Aristotle 2400 years ago. What is more bewildering is that we never questioned this simple concept, and continued to believe what we were asked to memorize and recite as kids. It is high time we start thinking and questioning the simplest of things we learnt. It is high time we expand the elementary school textbooks and discuss the entire human sensory capabilities.