# What would a sixth physical sense be?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-sixth-physical-sense-be/154181>\
**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:** 4\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![Umbriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9de053/32.png) [@Umbriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Umbriel)\
**Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-sixth-physical-sense-be/154181/41 "2003-05-01T18:30:08Z")

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The latest issue of _Smithsonian_ has an article about the discovery of pressure receptors on the jawline of alligators. The “bumps” had been noticed all along, but only recently did a scientist determine that there were nerves directly associated with them, and work to determine just what might be being sensed.

She found that they seem to detect pressure waves in water, allowing the 'gator to find moving prey without resorting to vision, sound, or scent. Arguably a highly specialized form of touch, but apparently contributing directly to the 'gator’s sense of its surroundings in three dimensions.

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**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\
**Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-sixth-physical-sense-be/154181/42 "2003-05-01T18:40:02Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> I think that balance usually is classified as another sense. There are really 7 major senses - A sense of balance and the kinesthetic sense (awareness of your own body basically), plus the five traditional ones.
> 
> No, I don’t have a cite for this at the moment. I could in fact be completely wrong, but this is what I seem to remember.

My psychology professor agrees with you, and I was gong to post that balance is sense #6.

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**Author:** ![Assuming\_facts\_not\_in\_evidence](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Assuming\_facts\_not\_in\_evidence](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Assuming_facts_not_in_evidence)\
**Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-sixth-physical-sense-be/154181/43 "2003-05-01T18:41:15Z")

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Sense of balance is real, and quite distict from the regular 5.  
Sense of time is real, although not always accurate (but neither are the other 5).

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**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\
**Post date:** [May 1, 2003, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-sixth-physical-sense-be/154181/44 "2003-05-01T18:41:20Z")

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You could sense the fart before you got into the elevator.

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