Now let’s just list some more senses, and see that they match the definition.
There are a couple more accepted human senses:
- Balance, part of the vestibular system; which way is up—that is, in which direction does the local gravity field decrease in intensity?
- The proprioceptive sense… that’s the relative position of our limbs. Where are my hands in relation to each other? Without this sense, we wouldn’t be able to tell in the dark.
Now there are some animal senses that we don’t have.
- Bats use echolocation.
- Bees and birds have a magnetic sense
- Some fish have electroception. Actually, some fish generate electric fields, and then they look for the inflections other fish make in the field when they use their muscles. It’s another activity-detector, like hearing for us.
The coolest thing I never knew before this talk: duck-billed platypus have electroception! That’s what their bills are for. Their bills detect electric fields, and they wave their heads from side to side when they’re swimming in order to build up an electric picture of the surroundings. It’s perfect for dirty water. I never knew!