Our Senses

[Rahn127]

The things we can sense about our environment are pretty awesome.

We can see some of the electromagnetic spectrum.
We can hear a variety of sounds, not all, but some.
Our sense of taste can detect chemical compositions.
Our sense of smell can detect various gases, odors and scents.
Our sense of touch can detect heat, cold, soft, rough, wet, dry, heavy, light, pressure and many more.

Lately I've been watching videos about a man who has been blind since birth and he answers questions about how he thinks about vision.

He finds it remarkable that someone can catch a ball that is throw at them.
He is amazed at all the things sighted people can do, but still has no real understanding of what vision is.

It got me to thinking about an alien who might come to this world and be able to sense something we can't.

I'm trying to think of an example of something a hypothetical alien would be able to sense that would simply blow us away. Something on par with being blind vs being able to see.

What are we blind of ?

We can't directly see the atomic world.
I suppose if an alien could see into an extra dimension, that would be quite awesome.

Can you think of any other examples ?

[ignoramus]

Sense of fear and sense of malicious intent might be interesting.

[I_am_not_mafia]

Maybe an alien could sense the force?

[John 6IX Breezy]

Rather than aliens, look at a dogs ability to smell. At first you might think it is an unimpressive and one-dimensional sense to have, and vision is still superior. But consider the fact that the particles that can be smelled have properties which light (for the most part) does not. The most interesting one is that smell decays over time. This means that a dog are keenly aware of the passage of time in ways we are not. All our senses, including smell, are stuck in the present moment. But dogs are able to navigate through time with theirs. They can perceive a flower, and be aware of how long ago it was alive. They can track a person across time, from where they stood a week ago, and follow their moments to where they are now.

[arewethereyet]

What if they could 'see' our thoughts?

[Nay_Sayer]

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