Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

June 1, 2023
A microscopic look into the power of the human sensorium. Seaberg takes readers on a satisfying journey within, evaluating human senses. The author describes the five common senses we learn as children--sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste--and also examines lesser-known ones such as depth perception and balance. One of the most compelling aspects of the book is the recurring theme that human sensory abilities are more powerful than most know. Seaberg emphasizes that the reason many people don't realize the extent of their innate abilities to perceive is because, especially in Western culture, we are in a state of constant sensory overload, which desensitizes us. The author shows us how our sensory capabilities function on an atomic and even quantum level. Especially fascinating is Seaberg's personal discussion of synesthesia. "I am a polysynesthete," she writes, "meaning that I have many bonus senses, including seeing colors associated with numbers, letters, music, days of the week (Tuesday is golden), months, and other stimuli. These impressions do not mean I don't also experience the primary expected sense. I just get a layer on top of it." Seaberg illustrates her points with a variety of research experiments and case studies, and she weaves in other people's personal accounts of their sensory abilities. In addition to her own captivating story, one of the most engaging case studies is a woman who can smell the secretion of oils on the skin that reside in an individual with Parkinson's disease. Thanks to her, writes the author, "doctors may now have a ten-year lead on Parkinson's worst phases and can provide better early care." Seaberg rounds out the book with suggestions for better engaging with your senses, including meditation, getting out in nature, and trying to "avoid the constant bombardment of stimuli modern society throws at you." An intriguing story about the power of perception.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

June 12, 2023
Human senses are “far more powerful than we know,” according to this uneven study. Psychology Today columnist Seaberg (Tasting the Universe) highlights research on hearing, sight, smell, taste, and touch that is changing the scientific understanding of perception. Humans, she argues, have a stronger sense of sight and smell than scientists once thought, citing studies that found humans outperform dogs in detecting certain scents and can see even a single photon of light. Seaberg also profiles individuals with keen sensory abilities, including retired nurse Joy Milne, whose ability to detect Parkinson’s disease by smell led to the development of an early diagnostic test, and sommelier Marzi Pecen, a “supertaster” who likely has twice as many taste buds as the average person. The science of how the senses function fascinates (taste is the result of chemicals in food changing proteins in the walls of taste buds’ sensory cells, which send messages that nerve cells pass on to the brain), but Seaberg undermines her credibility by taking seriously people who claim to be able to sense “a location on the other side of the world” or “an event that happened long ago.” Readers would be better off with Ashley Ward’s Where We Meet the World.

July 28, 2023
Vision, hearing, touch, taste, and smell are not the only senses humans possess. There's also equilibrioception (balance), thermoception (awareness of heat), nociception (perception of pain), and proprioception (body awareness). Neuroscientists postulate there might be as many as 20-30 senses used by people. Seaberg surveys our sensory abilities via recent research, introductions to individuals who have heightened senses, her own experience with tetrachromacy (enhanced color vision) and synesthesia, and speculation on the future of human sensory systems. Seaberg profiles a retired nurse ""super-smeller"" who purportedly has a knack for diagnosing Parkinson's disease (and maybe COVID-19, too) with just a sniff, ""super-tasters"" with highly sensitive palates, and a woman with mirror-touch synesthesia who experiences extreme empathy. Synesthesia, a rare condition that mixes senses (for example, seeing a color when hearing a word or music), garners much attention here. Seaberg's exuberance for the subject matter can veer too often toward hyperbole: ""We are on the brink of looking at the fabric of the cosmos!"" Still, when it comes to the remarkable (and at times peculiar) realm of human senses, wonderment is inevitable.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.