# What would a sixth physical sense be? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 10, 2003, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-sixth-physical-sense-be/154181 "2003-02-10T20:12:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2003, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-sixth-physical-sense-be/154181/21 "2003-02-10T23:46:49Z")
according to my neurophysiology lecturer proprioception is a sixth sense. it has specific receptors and neural pathways distinct from touch. it’s not balance, it’s the sense of being aware (consciously or unconsciously) of the position of limbs and body in space. the sense that gymnasts use to orient themselves after a complex flip or tumble. which can be done with the eyes closed. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-sixth-physical-sense-be/154181/22 "2003-02-11T00:57:45Z")
I think we’d have a much deeper understanding of the universe if we were able to directly sense electric and magnetic fields. What if we could _see_ the earth’s magnetic field? Or Jupiter’s? Can you imagine what the flux tube between Io (I think it is) and Jupiter would look like? ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-sixth-physical-sense-be/154181/23 "2003-02-11T02:36:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by irishgirl \* > \*\*according to my neurophysiology lecturer proprioception is a sixth sense. > it has specific receptors and neural pathways distinct from touch. > > it’s not balance, it’s the sense of being aware (consciously or unconsciously) of the position of limbs and body in space. > > the sense that gymnasts use to orient themselves after a complex flip or tumble. which can be done with the eyes closed. \*\* And not only that, but it is possible to lose your proprioceptive sense. People who lack it can’t point at a light source on the other side of a darkened room. That’s gotta suck. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-sixth-physical-sense-be/154181/24 "2003-02-11T02:43:13Z")
**Irishgirl** has it right. [Proprioception, aka kinesthesia](http://medicine.wustl.edu/~ysp/curriculum/neur_pss.htm) is the 6th sense. Neurologists around the world agree! ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-sixth-physical-sense-be/154181/25 "2003-02-11T02:53:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Qadgop the Mercotan \* > \*\ ***Irishgirl** has it right. [Proprioception, aka kinesthesia](http://medicine.wustl.edu/~ysp/curriculum/neur_pss.htm) is the 6th sense. Neurologists around the world agree! \*\* Well, that settles that! (I think.) How about 7? Do I hear a 7? …I got nothing here. If you find more to talk about, go right ahead. I’ll just watch… ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-sixth-physical-sense-be/154181/26 "2003-02-11T03:09:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kitarak \* > \*\*Welll… Yes. I looked at Wikipedia, and I then rejected it. It’s a good source in that all it’s information is usually correct in some sense of the word, but often not phrased or defined in quite the traditional way. > > I agree their definitions look plausible, but I’ve never seen that anywhere else so I remain mildly unconvinced, and will continue to refuse to use Wikipedia for cites. \*\* Of course it’s not a peer-reviewed scientific journal, but then this isn’t a totally scientific, quantifiable issue. I wasn’t trying to prove that there are 9 concrete set in stone senses. The number of senses is a subjective thing and depends on definitions. It’s like arguing about whether or not Pluto is a planet. You can’t look under a microscope and count the number of senses. There do seem to be a good number of reference and academic sites which state that there are more than 5 senses and I remember learning this in college. One sense, beyond the traditional 5, that I definitely remember is proprioception. If you check out this [Google search](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&as_qdr=all&q=%2Bchemical+%2Bproprioception+%2Baristotle+site%3A.edu&btnG=Google+Search) you’ll find a number of pages on various university sites discussing senses beyond Aristotles traditional 5. This really isn’t worth a long argument so if anybody wants to insist that there are only 5 then that’s fine by me. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Ace\_of\_Swords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@The\_Ace\_of\_Swords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Ace_of_Swords)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-sixth-physical-sense-be/154181/27 "2003-02-11T04:44:20Z")
I’ve had a lot of thoughts about this over the years – it’s a neat subject… Kinesthesia – sure. Are we saying Balance/Gravity is in between Kinesthesia and Touch? Ok by me. Pressure and Comfort were always poorly explained by touch. What is comfort/discomfort? Creativity is an interacting with sensate data – for instance a well-done jazz session. Is that touch, or feel, or what? Perfect Pitch might be in there as well. A sense of danger might sound like a comic book, but being able to tell that “something isn’t right” about a situation without knowing what exactly it is – maybe a sub-class of intelligence. Others, maybe later… ---
**Author:** ![Grasshopper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f19dbf/32.png) [@Grasshopper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grasshopper)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-sixth-physical-sense-be/154181/28 "2003-02-11T04:52:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ethilrist \* > \*\* > Being able to see peoples’ auras. \*\* Whoa there, I totally misread that as "Being able to see peoples’ \* anuses \*. Whew, there’s a sense I could do without, though I suppose life would be much less serious if only we could close our eyes and picture each other’s anus. Taking the “picture someone in his underwear” idea to the next level. ---
**Author:** ![Urban\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Urban\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urban_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-sixth-physical-sense-be/154181/29 "2003-02-11T07:34:44Z")
I don’t need extra senses, just expand my vision to include UV and IR, and my hearing to include very low and high frequencies (0-60,000Hz would do fine). 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![KarmaTate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3ab097/32.png) [@KarmaTate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarmaTate)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-sixth-physical-sense-be/154181/30 "2003-02-11T08:17:41Z")
With Wikipedia, I gotta wonder… is pain really a separate sense? I’m not sure… I think it could be an intellectual and instinctual cognative evaluation. Post sensory. It is a way of saying ‘too much’ or ‘too little’. (Vision) Light, at a certain intensity becomes painful. (Audition) Sound, at a certain intensity becomes painful. (Tactician) Pressure, at certain intensies becomes painful. (Thermoconception) Heat at certain intensities becomes painful. (Proprioception) Abnormal input is painful. (Broken arm or cut.) Think about it. Pain relies on a measurement by another sense. The three types of pain sensory information can easily be lumped as sensory abnormals from other senses. Just a thought. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-sixth-physical-sense-be/154181/31 "2003-02-11T13:43:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Urban Ranger \* > \*\*I don’t need extra senses, just expand my vision to include UV and IR, and my hearing to include very low and high frequencies (0-60,000Hz would do fine). 🙂 \*\* I take it you don’t work around computers? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Legomancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/779978/32.png) [@Legomancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legomancer)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-sixth-physical-sense-be/154181/32 "2003-02-11T13:50:22Z")
I was working on a fantasy world one time in which the number 8 had mystical meaning to the main race, and therefore everything was categorized by 8s, including senses. The 8 senses were the standard five plus memory, intuition, and I don’t remember the 8th. Possibly something paranormal. ---
**Author:** ![kitarak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kitarak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitarak)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-sixth-physical-sense-be/154181/33 "2003-02-11T14:28:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by davidm \* > \*\*Of course it’s not a peer-reviewed scientific journal, but then this isn’t a totally scientific, quantifiable issue. I wasn’t trying to prove that there are 9 concrete set in stone senses. The number of senses is a subjective thing and depends on definitions. It’s like arguing about whether or not Pluto is a planet. You can’t look under a microscope and count the number of senses. There do seem to be a good number of reference and academic sites which state that there are more than 5 senses and I remember learning this in college. One sense, beyond the traditional 5, that I definitely remember is proprioception. If you check out this [Google search](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&as_qdr=all&q=%2Bchemical+%2Bproprioception+%2Baristotle+site%3A.edu&btnG=Google+Search) you’ll find a number of pages on various university sites discussing senses beyond Aristotles traditional 5. > > This really isn’t worth a long argument so if anybody wants to insist that there are only 5 then that’s fine by me. \*\* Oh, my objection to Wikipedia wasn’t that it isn’t a peer reviewed journal or an ‘official’ source. It’s just that my experience with it is that they often define things in slightly unusual ways so that while their information is correct and reasonably complete, it’s often taken from a slightly odd perspective.Thus it’s reasonably likely that the 9 senses they list would probably be taken differently by others - some grouped together, some seperated. I certainly agree there are more than 5 senses. I’m just not sure I agree with the exact 9 wikipedia lists. ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-sixth-physical-sense-be/154181/34 "2003-02-11T18:28:55Z")
> [@](#): > > - **Umbriel** - Sharks and some related sea creatures apparently have a sense of electromagnetic fields that allows them to detect living creatures in murky water. On the down side, it sometimes induces them to gnaw on electrical cables… [Sean Connery voice] Shocking. [/Sean] > [@](#): > > - **Legomancer** - I was working on a fantasy world one time in which the number 8 had mystical meaning to the main race, and therefore everything was categorized by 8s, including senses. The 8 senses were the standard five plus memory, intuition, and I don’t remember the 8th. Possibly something paranormal. Mr. Pratchett would like a word with you… I personally go with the magnetic field sense. ---
**Author:** ![Belrix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed655f/32.png) [@Belrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belrix)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-sixth-physical-sense-be/154181/35 "2003-02-11T19:26:12Z")
My son has [Sensory Integration Disorder](http://www.sinetwork.org/home/whatisdsi.html) so he gets therapy to help him learn to cope with it. His therapy counts six senses with “Vestibular processing”, balance control, as the sixth. Once, if he closed his eyes, he’d fall over from the lack of body position feedback - his only feedback was visual. He’s doing better now - he actually gets dizzy if spun and controls his body better, too. That said, I’d go for 360-degree awareness as my new sense - kind of like Daredevil. -B ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-sixth-physical-sense-be/154181/36 "2003-02-11T19:26:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ethilrist \* > \*\*I see dead people… \*\* That’s because you work in a funeral home. That doesn’t count. ---
**Author:** ![Legomancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/779978/32.png) [@Legomancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legomancer)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-sixth-physical-sense-be/154181/37 "2003-02-11T19:58:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by photopat \* > \*\*Mr. Pratchett would like a word with you… > > I personally go with the magnetic field sense. \*\* Really? Well, then I guess it’s a good thing that the paragraph above is the most I ever wrote on the idea. ---
**Author:** ![Sock\_Munkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Sock\_Munkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sock_Munkey)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-sixth-physical-sense-be/154181/38 "2003-02-11T20:09:48Z")
One can break down the qualities of an item into 3 categories #1 physical - size, shape, density, location, motion #2 chemical - elemental composition #3 electromagnetic - EM radiation or a magnetic field One could get by with three external senses if the range of each were sufficiently broad. A dolphin, for example, has little or no sense of smell and can do quite well even if totally blind because it’s sonar covers all the factors of category #1 to a greater or lesser extent. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-sixth-physical-sense-be/154181/39 "2003-02-11T20:30:04Z")
Maybe we could perform dances to show the rest of the hive where the honey ale is. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-sixth-physical-sense-be/154181/40 "2003-02-11T20:39:30Z")
## quote: ## Originally posted by Ethilrist I see dead people… > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Shagnasty \* > \*\*That’s because you work in a funeral home. That doesn’t count. \*\* No, no, no. He’s merely a Young Republican, & they are merely _reasonable facsimilies_ of dead people. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-sixth-physical-sense-be/154181.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-sixth-physical-sense-be/154181.md?page=3)