How to Feel

November 16, 2020
“Ever since Plato, touch has been an unappreciated sense,” writes journalist Subramanian in this accessible debut. The author’s central concern is to find what would happen if society was as aware of touch—“our lowest sense” according to Plato—as it is of vision, which she argues the West favors for its Enlightenment association with knowledge. She begins with an anecdote: one day, struggling with a wobbly desk, she wonders what constitutes touch, concluding “it was unsettling to realize how little I knew about” that sense. This sets Subramanian on an international quest in which she meets Englishman Ian Waterman, one of 10 known people to have a condition that impairs his ability to feel sensations on his skin; interviews professional cuddlers about touch-starvation; tests a sensory deprivation bath; and attends a haptics conference of touch-illusions. She writes of such innovators as Diane Gromala, a visual artist and professor who uses virtual reality to treat chronic pain, and Ingo Koehler, leader of the haptics group at Volkswagen. At the heart is the author’s own curiosity as she moves from being once “touch averse” to someone “electrified” by massage school. Subramanian is a thoughtful guide on this exploration that delivers an eye-opening mix of self-discovery and scientific investigation.

December 1, 2020
Of all the senses, touch continues to be the least understood because it has so many components that are difficult to isolate,"" journalist Subramanian writes. The sense of touch serves as a conduit to the brain for gauging noxious and pleasant stimuli, temperature, vibration, pressure, and proprioception (cognizance of the body's movement and position). Touching can unite us (a handshake, a hug) or violate us (a forceful smack, inappropriate fondling). On both a biological and emotional level, ""feeling"" is a complicated phenomenon. Readers learn about mechanoreceptors (tactile sensors) in the skin, the feel of fabrics and textures of foods, the experience of massage school training, the value of touch in healing and religion, and haptics (the technology of stimulating touch and motion). Touch connects us to the physical world and offers us the possibility of connecting with other people. Yet even prior to the coronavirus pandemic and requirement for social distancing, an aversion to touching (except for operating smart phones and computers) was already on the rise. A useful introduction to the culture, mechanics, and consequences of touch.

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