# Sixth Sense?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sixth-sense/123551>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 12, 2002, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sixth-sense/123551 "2002-08-12T15:48:33Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Bluebuddah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9fc348/32.png) [@Bluebuddah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bluebuddah)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sixth-sense/123551/1 "2002-08-12T15:48:33Z")

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The other night I was dead asleep, and suddenly awoke to a throbbing little dog butt that was about to take a dump on my shoulder. Do we as humans have a subconcious awarness of the things that occur while we are unconscious?

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**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sixth-sense/123551/2 "2002-08-12T15:51:23Z")

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Hmmm, can we sense things that we cannot semse?.. It’s a tough one.

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**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sixth-sense/123551/3 "2002-08-12T16:00:58Z")

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We’re often aware of things that we don’t _know_ we’re aware of; and some stimuli are much more effective at waking sleeping people than others of ~equal intensity.

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**Author:** ![d12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/71c47a/32.png) [@d12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/d12)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sixth-sense/123551/4 "2002-08-12T16:06:37Z")

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I see dog poop!

Could it be that you felt the doggie as he preped himself for the evil doing?

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**Author:** ![LolaCocaCola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@LolaCocaCola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaCocaCola)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sixth-sense/123551/5 "2002-08-12T16:17:15Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Bluebuddah \*  
> \*\*throbbing little dog butt \*\*

Four words that I hope _never_ again to encounter for the remainder of my life.

:o

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**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sixth-sense/123551/6 "2002-08-12T16:17:33Z")

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Even though you’re asleep, your brain is still processing sensory input. It tosses most of it out as irrelevant but still manages to kick you awake if, say, a fire alarm goes off.

More than once I have awakened at around 3 am with my 6-year-old daughter standing by the bed, just standing there quietly. I never consciously heard a sound, but I know that my brain picked up on something, like her footsteps coming into the room, even though I wasn’t conscious of it.