If you had to lose all your senses but one, which would you choose to keep?

[bif]

I'd definitely pick the sense of sight.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. Right there with you, my dear bif! VISION is so very important. nt

[CrispyQ]

2. LOL. You're an artist & movie critic, so of course you would!!

For me your question is painful to even think about. I'd rather contemplate if I could come up with a sixth sense for all of humanity, what would it be/do? I've thought about that at times & I still don't know.

[dgauss]

17. Maybe empathy as an actual sense.

What would the world be like if each of us could empathize with the the person in front of you as clearly as you could see them?

[CrispyQ]

20. Yes, I'd considered that one & what a benefit to our species that would be.

Or would it? Could there be an unexpected downside? That could make an interesting premise for a sci fi story. One thing that would be kind of fascinating & also terrifying at the same time would to be able to really feel the scope of the universe. Not much benefit to humankind, though.

Most of the things I thought of were just extensions of the senses we already have. It's hard to imagine what you can't perceive.

[bif]

3. I saw a movie a couple years ago

Where there's a worldwide pandemic where everyone loses their senses one by one. I forget the title but it was quite good!

[sinkingfeeling]

4. Yes, sight.

[Jrose]

5. As a visual artist, my eyesight is of course, the most precious sense...

But hearing is very close in importance, because I also appreciate music, both as a listener and player.

[MLAA]

6. Eyesight

Bough sense of decency is up there! 😉

[Sneederbunk]

7. Common

[keithbvadu2]

8. There seem to be senses beyond the big five.

https://www.google.com/search?q=what+are+the+five+senses&rlz=1C1AWUC_enUS1014US1023&oq=what+are+the+five+senses&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyCQgAEEUYORiABDIMCAEQABgUGIcCGIAEMgcIAhAAGIAEMgcIAxAAGIAEMgcIBBAAGIAEMgcIBRAAGIAEMgcIBhAAGIAEMgcIBxAAGIAEMgwICBAAGBQYhwIYgAQyBwgJEAAYgATSAQoyOTMxMmowajE1qAIIsAIB&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

[JackSabbath]

9. Physical contact

Without that everything else is nonsense.

[unblock]

10. Touch

I think with touch, I could take in information and express myself, and experience life, albeit in a challenging way.

Sight is certainly important, but I don't think I could really function without touch. Pain alerts to avoid a serious injury is vital. Just moving your body around would be really problematic without a sense of feel.

[MiHale]

11. This is an interesting article on senses....

https://cognitiontoday.com/all-the-important-human-senses-and-what-they-do/

Snip from the start of the article…

Common knowledge makes a lot of sense. Pardon the many nonSense puns.

I am going to walk you through how many human senses there are and what they sense.

The answer that we have 5 senses is wrong. It’s not 6, it’s not 7. And the common mystical ‘6th sense’ doesn’t exist. Great movie though.

Before we get started on the technical aspects, I want to rule out things like the ‘6th sense’ or ‘Extrasensory perception‘, etc. Under the scientific lens, they are not senses. Those things are more of processes that occur in the brain which we wrongly conceptualize as ‘senses’.


Sensing– The process of neurons communicating information from the environment and from within the body (but outside of the brain) to the brain. Senses have dedicated biological processes (sensory system, receptors, brain regions that consolidate information) and dedicated mental aspects (sharpness of sound, rough texture). Let’s use this definition to put things in perspective.

But is that it? Let me ask some questions that will prime you with these extra senses that we have.

[sanatanadharma]

12. I propose that the five senses are all variations on touch

Touch of air waves, touch of photons, touch of tongue, touch of airborne fragrance, and 'touch' itself- the awareness of the inside-outside reality.
Thinking as such I ought choose touch, however I choose hearing.

The senses reveal otherness to the self, but they all narrow the sense of self.
Sound, however, absent the other senses, is less separated, less other than 'self'.
Being in a world of sound, one's self is as large as the furthest sound; the self expands in sound.
The feeling of smallness diminishes, and the eyes can not negate this bigger self

[Emile]

13. Eye sight. Back pain I can do without.

[LudwigPastorius]

14. Hearing.

I'm a musician. I'd rather live in darkness than silence.

[Different Drummer]

15. Sight.

I could do without hearing rather easily.

[Phentex]

16. Taste!

and probably smell if that counts

[CrispyQ]

21. Are you a chef?

Just asking based on the responses on this thread, which has been fascinating reading!

[Phentex]

25. No but I have watched Top Chef

[AllaN01Bear]

18. helen keller lost almost all of her senses except touch. she was able to communicate that way.

hero in my book.

[ProfessorGAC]

19. Toughie

I don't know I could do a Beethoven and still play music I can't hear.
But, sight? Can't drive, can't play golf, couldn't substitute teach.
I guess site, because with hearing there's always sign language.
But, with either of those it's tough to choose.

[OldBaldy1701E]

22. An interesting question.

As a musician and a singer, I would say I would need my sense of touch the most. This is going on the assumption that this happens right now, meaning I had 60 years to see, hear, taste and smell already.

But, since my neuropathy has effectively destroyed my sense of touch and taste, I would say I would rather not have any if I cannot keep what I have left.

[Intractable]

23. Sense of self

Where would I be without me?

[soldierant]

24. I'd keep hearing.

That question actually came up in a special education class I took in the late seventies. Almost everyone said sight, but the instructor explained many ways in which it is easier to cope with the loss of sight than the loss of hearing. I don't remember them, but I remember I was convinced.

[aeromanKC]

26. Touch

You would literally go crazy if you lost it. You could not exist.

[WheelWalker]

27. Sense of humor.

[GreenWave]

28. ESP

Because when you lose a sense the others become more enhanced. losing them all provided I can blab may reveal things that are important,

[Tribetime]

29. Sight I had a blind dog