# If you had to give up one of your 5 senses for a month, which would you pick? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 24, 2024, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-give-up-one-of-your-5-senses-for-a-month-which-would-you-pick/1004743 "2024-07-24T17:38:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2024, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-give-up-one-of-your-5-senses-for-a-month-which-would-you-pick/1004743/21 "2024-07-24T19:06:00Z")
Just asked my gf which sense she’d give up for a month and she chose propriety. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2024, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-give-up-one-of-your-5-senses-for-a-month-which-would-you-pick/1004743/22 "2024-07-24T19:10:11Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > > [@muldoonthief](#): > > > > More seriously, are you counting taste as only what your tongue senses? In that case I’d pick taste, since much of the eating experience is actually from your olfactory nerves. > > Yeah, what he said. Also my thought, for the reasons mentioned above and a great excuse to work on my weight loss. If I was losing my sense of smell, I’d loose 80% of my taste _anyway_ (as my bout with Covid taught me) so you get a double loss from smell. Plus, while neither is key in daily life, keeping your sense of smell is probably more important in the social sense. Sight, hearing and touch are RIGHT out, first two would keep me from driving to work, and working, and without touch I’d probably end up injuring myself constantly, not to mention sensory deprivation. I mean, I’m not saying I’d go full [Darkman](https://youtu.be/IBFRIl4GOyI?si=4UBjD0MNfEwSoDqn&t=52), but, well, why risk it? 🤣 ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2024, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-give-up-one-of-your-5-senses-for-a-month-which-would-you-pick/1004743/23 "2024-07-24T19:18:45Z")
I lost my sense of smell a few months ago with covid and it was fine. Food actually still tasted fine but honestly I think because I am a sugar-holic and could still taste sweet so all was well. It did have a funny side-effect. My basement flooded with some rainwater and sewage and I had no idea. I had just done laundry the day before so I wasn’t due to go down there for a couple more weeks. It was a stroke of luck that I had bought the wrong type of butter from the store for my mom and had to go to the basement to get a cooler to return the butter. I never would have noticed it had I not seen it, because I couldn’t smell. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2024, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-give-up-one-of-your-5-senses-for-a-month-which-would-you-pick/1004743/24 "2024-07-24T19:59:05Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > He said that he _probably_ would just to see what he had been missing. I think it would be completely overwhelming. You’d want to start out in an environment with as few odors as possible. In Robert J. Sawyer’s _The Neanderthal Parallax_ trilogy a parallel world where Neanderthals came to dominate exists and there is a sudden rift in the separation between them. There are many [differences between ‘Barast’ and our societies](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Neanderthal_Parallax#Barast_society), a good many of them driven by their more acute sense of smell. As a result they skipped right over exploiting petroleum and went directly to clean energy. Their first, accidental, visitor complained about the stench in the air. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2024, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-give-up-one-of-your-5-senses-for-a-month-which-would-you-pick/1004743/25 "2024-07-24T23:17:33Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > I don’t have a sense of smell. Your husband gets all the breaks, don’t he? My wife lost her sense of smell, but there were plenty of other reasons she found to leave. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2024, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-give-up-one-of-your-5-senses-for-a-month-which-would-you-pick/1004743/26 "2024-07-25T00:12:37Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > I don’t have a sense of smell. Mostly I feel pretty lucky! But if I had to choose another I’d say taste. I’d probably lose a couple pounds… Have you ever had a sense of smell? If you haven’t, would you take a magic pill that made you have one permanently? ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2024, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-give-up-one-of-your-5-senses-for-a-month-which-would-you-pick/1004743/27 "2024-07-25T01:35:39Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Your husband gets all the breaks, don’t he? Aw shucks. ☺ ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2024, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-give-up-one-of-your-5-senses-for-a-month-which-would-you-pick/1004743/28 "2024-07-25T01:39:28Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > Have you ever had a sense of smell? If you haven’t, would you take a magic pill that made you have one permanently? I seem to remember how my dad’s parents house smelled (I’d have been very young then). Mom says that was “booze and cigarettes”. Gosh no, I don’t want to smell anything! I imagine it’s like having someone come up and shove something in your mouth, like it or not. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2024, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-give-up-one-of-your-5-senses-for-a-month-which-would-you-pick/1004743/29 "2024-07-25T04:40:28Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > Again, relying on what my co-worker has told me, texture of food is more important to him than just about anything else. Which is why Ben & Jerry’s ice cream is so chunky - Ben has no sense of smell. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2024, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-give-up-one-of-your-5-senses-for-a-month-which-would-you-pick/1004743/30 "2024-07-25T05:46:50Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > I don’t have a sense of smell. Mostly I feel pretty lucky! Given your username… ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2024, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-give-up-one-of-your-5-senses-for-a-month-which-would-you-pick/1004743/31 "2024-07-25T07:08:14Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Sight. I’m already blind in one eye. I’ve had surgery on my good eye and was literally blind for awhile. > I was surprised how well I got around. When I was nursing I worked with a guy who had done a course designed for those working with people with various health restrictions. As part of the course they spent long periods with their senses blocked. I remember him telling me that he was surprised that he coped fairly well with being “blind” but found being “deaf” terrifying. He has assumed that the reverse would be true. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2024, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-give-up-one-of-your-5-senses-for-a-month-which-would-you-pick/1004743/32 "2024-07-25T07:45:31Z")
Assuming I had the luxury of taking that month off work, I’d go with hearing. I’m enough of an introvert outside of work that I can get away with not having to talk to other people very often, and not being able to listen to music or watch videos without CC on would be less than optimal, but perhaps the silence would make me appreciate it all the more once my hearing came back. If I still have to go to work, then taste. ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2024, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-give-up-one-of-your-5-senses-for-a-month-which-would-you-pick/1004743/33 "2024-07-25T08:19:15Z")
For 1 month, I’d give up my sense of smell. Second choice would be taste. The ones I wouldn’t want to lose are sight first, then hearing ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2024, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-give-up-one-of-your-5-senses-for-a-month-which-would-you-pick/1004743/34 "2024-07-25T10:58:44Z")
I could go deaf for a month and enjoy the silence for that limited amount of time. Give me some time to catch up on my reading. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2024, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-give-up-one-of-your-5-senses-for-a-month-which-would-you-pick/1004743/35 "2024-07-25T11:16:38Z")
Taste. It’s only a month and a lot of the sense of taste is actually the sense of smell anyway. After a month everything will taste much better also. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2024, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-give-up-one-of-your-5-senses-for-a-month-which-would-you-pick/1004743/36 "2024-07-25T11:27:42Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > I remember him telling me that he was surprised that he coped fairly well with being “blind” but found being “deaf” terrifying. Whenever my husband leaves the house, I shut off the TV or anything that makes noise. Partly it’s to enjoy the peace and quiet, but I also feel like I need to be aware of what’s going on around me. So I kind of get that. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2024, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-give-up-one-of-your-5-senses-for-a-month-which-would-you-pick/1004743/37 "2024-07-25T13:55:52Z")
Another vote for smell. But if you reduce the duration to (say) a day, I’ll go with sight. The reason being, I think I actually have unusually good proprioception - I’ll walk into a dark room to get something and be too lazy to put the light on; most likely I can find my way to it without sight. So a day finding out whether I’m as good as I think I am would be interesting. But if I’m wrong about this, a month would be a _ **very** _ long time. j ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2024, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-give-up-one-of-your-5-senses-for-a-month-which-would-you-pick/1004743/38 "2024-07-25T13:58:46Z")
Smell. I lost it for about 3 weeks when I had COVID. Weird, yes, but cleaning the cat box was like raking a zen garden. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2024, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-give-up-one-of-your-5-senses-for-a-month-which-would-you-pick/1004743/39 "2024-07-26T01:06:46Z")
I lost my sense of smell when I had covid. And while it was much easier to clean the cat box, I found it disorienting and deeply upsetting. I kinda orient myself by smell. Every room smells a little different, outside smells different from inside, I know which clothes I brought to the hotel and didn’t wear because they smell of hotel. And suddenly, I went blind. It really freaked me out. I think I’d go without taste (that’s just sweet, sour, salty, bitter, umami, and maybe spicy.) Or maybe without sight. > [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > I remember him telling me that he was surprised that he coped fairly well with being “blind” but found being “deaf” terrifying. He has assumed that the reverse would be true. Yeah, I think being deaf would be truly terrifying to me. And I suspect I’d damage myself without a sense of touch. Those are the two I’d miss most, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2024, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-give-up-one-of-your-5-senses-for-a-month-which-would-you-pick/1004743/40 "2024-07-26T01:10:46Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I’ll take a month of complete silence. But only a month. This one. There’s been some construction outside my window for several weeks now and it’s been disrupting my sleep. I’d actually love some silence for a while. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-give-up-one-of-your-5-senses-for-a-month-which-would-you-pick/1004743.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-give-up-one-of-your-5-senses-for-a-month-which-would-you-pick/1004743.md?page=3)