Interesting realization....

Think about this question....

Does color exist to a man who's been blind all his life?

I've thought about the following idea before, but it kind of occurred to me again, so I thought I'd share it... Not like I'm the only one who's considered this, I'm sure, but I thought it interesting at least....

All of our knowledge of the Universe, is based on our 5 senses. We know reality, only because we can taste it, touch it, see it, smell it, or hear it. Those things that we can't sense through these senses (magnetism, charge, etc.) we can only sense as interpretations relayed by measuring devices that again rely on these same 5 senses.

I'm no biologist, but I believe that there are creatures who do not possess all 5 of these senses. So, what if we too, do not possess all senses available to recognize existence? What if there are other things that exist in reality, but because of our inability to sense them with these 5 senses, or tools that can utilize one of them for display, we simply don't realize their existence??? Perhaps this is the basis for ghosts, demons, etc. That other senses are evolving in mankind, and we're starting to become more aware of the true reality.... Or, maybe it's just figments of our imagination?

What if the true reality of the universe, would require 20 different senses to actually be aware of all that is?

but the perception of the color will be greatly different...
not perceptable by the same word...
that raises the question...
do blind people dream and if so...
are their dreams vivid or bland...
well i on one hand believe that when you loose a sense you gain more perception in another...
so yes they dream probably more vividly...

Oh wow. This is an "old" cogniative science question. There are several answers to this. But I believe the general consenus is Yes, and as long as the person and Us were able to point at the same color and identify it, it doesn't matter what the formerly-blind person is actually seeing.

Also, I believe meditation is supposed to expand your senses.

Gazrock,

I am following you here. You have the right direction.

I have often felt that there is more to reality than we can sense. Now, I am not sure if "20 senses" are needed or not. I look at it this way (lately I have started sounding like a broken record on all the forums I visit). Humans use 10% of their brain (give or take based on the individual). Some use different parts than others, but the same "limitation" is there. Some people percieve reality differently than others. (beliefs in ghosts, ufos, psychics etc) Being as they are using different parts of their brain, their reality is altered from others. Much like someone "suffering" from a mental disorder. (another topic altogether)

Now, if any given person could "turn off" 5% of their brain, and "turn on" a different 5%, their reality would likely change. (boy I sure hope you are following)

Now, we come to the "extent" of reality. Based on the 10% limit, we can only perceive 10% of reality at once. Even if we could change which 10% (which, through head trauma etc I feel is possible) we would still only pick up on 10%. If humans could use all 100% of their brain, regardless of weather we still have only 5 senses or not, we could then perceive 100% of what reality is.

**** if you got lost anywhere, let me know, I will try to elaborate any given point.

sorry to disapoint you...

I think most are missing the point... It isn't to answer the question....the question is just to put you in the right frame of mind for what followed....

A blind man who has never seen color, couldn't even imagine it more likely than not, but would imagine in ways that he "sees", all black shapes....

Which then brings me to my point...if we don't even possess the sense, we wouldn't even be able to imagine what those other senses would be...

some put limitations on what they allow their senses to percieve...

Gazrok, after reading your first post I thought I understood you perfectly. Further down, the complexity intensified. Needless to say, I'm lost.

I believe our senses are not satisfactory in regards to obtaining all of life/death's secrets. Perhaps we'd be more in tune with our surroundings if we had other senses/abilities.

The statement "We use only 10% of our brain" is a very common misconception. It is not true. We use 100% of our brain. Brain is 100% active, if it wasnt that way, neurons would degenerate, die.
The more important issue is how are different parts of the brain connected, how many pathways there are to reach a certain area of the brain? Are visual and cognitive part connected more the usual, for example?
Human brain is still a mystery, how exactly does it work, but one thing is clear, we do use 100% of it.

the 10% myth

On topic now, it is possible that we cannot perceive the whole reality, that we lack senses to see certain things. Are we ever going to know fo sure? How can we know that there IS something we cannot see, if nobody can see it? How would we be aware of such reality?

Exactly...how can we be aware? Just one of those hmmm questions really....

I've never agreed with the whole 10% idea... From what I've seen, the brain works similar to a curcuit board... An impulse doesn't necessarily always take the same route from a to b.... This is precisely why some people can have brain trauma, and then other parts of the brain take over their jobs.... I think a lot of our brain cells exist just for this purpose...to take over when other such cells die...after all, shortly after birth, they (brain cells) no longer divide, etc.

in which science is not based on the study of all the diversities of man...

This is responding to your hmmmm question. Interestingly enough, I just e-mailed Scientific American with a similiar question "What color do the blind see?" for their ask the experts column. I was being silly (the real question I wanted to ask doesn't fit this forum, sorry).
So far, no response.

Gaz,
That makes me think aswell of another situation that might consitute in this same situation.
I have a Cousin who happens to be deaf, he can not talk nor hear.
But yet he can mouth words with no problem. he can even speak some words, or mumble them. Iv been wondering how someone who has never heard sounds in his life can speak these words.
Deep

Why Does the Myth Continue?

Somehow, somewhere, someone started this myth and the popular media keep on repeating this false statement (see the figures). Soon, everyone believes the statement regardless of the evidence. I have not been able to track down the exact source of this myth, and I have never seen any scientific data to support it.

Just like "god", eh?

Originally posted by ZeroDeep
Gaz,
That makes me think aswell of another situation that might consitute in this same situation.
I have a Cousin who happens to be deaf, he can not talk nor hear.
But yet he can mouth words with no problem. he can even speak some words, or mumble them. Iv been wondering how someone who has never heard sounds in his life can speak these words.
Deep

This example reminds me of yet an even more extreme situation. Anyone remember Helen Keller? On occasion I've tried to imagine life from her perspective without Hearing or Sight. It's hard to imagine being born and living in a reality that is Silent and Dark yet being able to feel what is happening around you. Smell, Taste and Touch would not allow for much subjective understanding of the world. Yet Helen learned to speak by feeling the vibrations of words spoken by someone else. Also she learned "Colors" in her own way of course, by associating for example, Blue by feeling flowing water. Red with heat or fire. It's been years since I've seen or read about it but her story is amazing and weird to try and imagine going through personally.

A lot of people claim to have a "6th" sense connection to other-worldly things. I doubt we are evolving another sense(s). I think that it is there initially, but destroyed by "civilisation". I think that we are born with the ability to perceive things beyond our usual 5 senses, but at some point in our development, we lose or suppress this ability. Young children and animals often perceive, and react to, things beyond our adult & human field of view.

There are innumerable recorded accounts of supernatural events witnessed by people throughout history. Just because there is little accepted scientific "proof", doesn't mean there is not something beyond what our limited senses can detect.

As I said before, animals have an uncanny ability to pick up on all sorts of different anomalies. My dogs always start to act disturbed and upset whenever there is an approaching storm, for instance. People also say that dogs can't see colors, but I have seen a dog separate stuffed fabric blocks by color, without any other defining characteristics. What's to say they can't also perceive "ghosts" or "spirits" beyond us.


Tribal cultures have no inhibitions regarding the spirit world and many have rituals and ceremonies to bring them into contact with it. I think, sometimes, that our incessant drive to eradicate anything that can't be explained scientifically, has limited us as much as it has aided us. Perhaps this is the reason that people long ago believed in the supernatural. Nobody told them it couldn't be real, so it was.