Super Senses: The Science of Your 32 Senses and How to Use Them

I loved this book. So much information and beautifully told.

Traditionally we were brought up to believe that we had five senses. It is now widely accepted that we have many more – at least 32 in fact. This book goes through them all, providing both the scientific background as well as the practical uses of each.This is a very dense book which was quite a daunting prospect. However, I persevered and am very glad that I did. It definitely falls into the genre of popular science as, despite the vast amount of information given - some of it quite technical in nature - it is written in a way that makes it very accessible to a layman. It is well written with a good structure, well presented arguments and plenty of examples to back up those arguments. There are a huge number of interesting and surprising facts and lots of intriguing real-life stories relating either to the senses, or to a lack of them. There are also numerous suggestions for ways in which we can enhance or improve our own senses. I think my lasting impression from this book is how extraordinarily complex, intricate and clever our bodies are – amazing.Having sung the book’s praises in the previous paragraph, I have to admit that I was actually very relieved to have finished it. This was not because I found it boring but because I was running out of the concentration required to get the most out of it. I certainly found that I was struggling to follow some of the arguments towards the end and hope that this was because the author was also running out of steam but I suspect the fault lay entirely with me.It seems that, to some extent at least, we are in control of our own destiny when it comes to senses and that there are a multitude of things that we can do to improve them. I would love to think that I will avail myself of every opportunity to do just that. The reality is probably more along the lines of what the road to hell is paved with but heigh-ho, you can’t win them all!This is a very interesting book but it is hard going. I would certainly recommend it to people who are, by nature, curious and who enjoy a challenging read.

A compilation of accessible evidence about how the multiple human senses work and interrelate

Provides accurate anatomical details differentiating the many different types of sensors in our body. A real eye opener into how sophisticated our senses really are, well beyond the 5 senses we know. My only complaint is the book print is smaller than normal. My eyes are fine.

Enjoyed reading it