- #1
DaveC426913
Gold Member
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The senses are, in a nutshell, methods by which we gather information about the outside world.
I've never understood why balance is not considered a sixth sense. It is a way that we gather information about the outside world that is unique from the other senses. It tells us which way is down.
The fact that our sense of balance is located in our ear is irrelevant - the ear is merely an organ.
The fact that balance uses tiny hairs and grains to do its sensing doesn't subsume it under touch. The hairs are not touching anything external. It seems to me a sense should be defined by the type of information it gathers, not by the implementation.
Is my logic flawed?
I've never understood why balance is not considered a sixth sense. It is a way that we gather information about the outside world that is unique from the other senses. It tells us which way is down.
The fact that our sense of balance is located in our ear is irrelevant - the ear is merely an organ.
The fact that balance uses tiny hairs and grains to do its sensing doesn't subsume it under touch. The hairs are not touching anything external. It seems to me a sense should be defined by the type of information it gathers, not by the implementation.
Is my logic flawed?