We all know the answer to the simple question; how do we perceive the world? It is only possible by the unresting efforts of our five sense organs, namely:
1. The Eye – for seeing
2. The Ear – for hearing
3. The Nose – for smelling
4. The Tongue – for tasting
5. The Skin – for touching
But how many of us know the mechanism of sight, for instance? Many people don’t know or even consider the question important because they can see, and that is most important. But have you ever considered that such questions are the basis upon which our human eye lenses get corrected or that you have someone to run to when you have issues with your sight? Did you know that seeing is only possible because certain cells in your eyes (photoreceptors) collect light projected from an object and transmit this message to the brain, and then the brain interprets the message as the object you are seeing? This is why you can see a blind man whose eyes are open but is unable to see even in broad daylight. This means that the optic nerves running between the photoreceptors and the portion of the brain that sees A or B have a problem. Did you also know that the images collected by the eyes are actually upside down; but the brain interprets an upright image to you? Amazing right? It is true.
But here is an even bigger question; did you know that what and how we perceive is different from what and how animals perceive? You may be surprised to know that animals see, hear, smell, taste and sense touch absolutely differently from the way we do.
Did you know the following?
- That a worker bee has 5,500 lenses on each eye and humans have one on each eye. That’s why they observe more colours than we do.
- Flies have 3000 taste-sensory hairs on their feet, which means that they can taste anything they stand upon.
- Elephants with their wide ears can hear very low infrasound frequencies inaudible to the human ears. This enables them to hear avalanches, earthquakes etc. from a very far distance.
- Dolphins and bats have improved hearing. They have a hearing system termed SONAR. They can send sound waves and listen for returning echoes which they can interpret to know if objects are stationary, incoming or outgoing, how tall or short the object is etc.
We all live in the same world, but also in the individual worlds projected by our brains. What humans observe or perceive as a certain colour, pleasant smell or sweet taste may be the direct opposite for a cat, dog, crocodile or beetle.
This is why scientists have spent so much time studying the mystery behind the harmony of the various distinct perceptions present on our gracious planet. Consequently, a number of improvements have turned out in human technology. Here are some examples:
1. Night vision goggles: Nocturnal animals have been naturally endowed with a tissue layer behind their retina called the tapetum lucidum. It functions as an intensifier of the little light available at night which makes their eyes develop a glowing effect at night. Technology compensates for this in humans with the night vision goggle, an image-intensifier tube that amplifies infrared and ambient visible light. It simply converts the photons of light into electrons that hit a screen coated with phosphor which excites and releases photons to create the green image seen by the wearer.
2. Sound Navigation and Ranging (SONAR): A technology inspired by the exceptional use of the hearing system of bats and dolphins. It involves the sending of low frequency pulse that can travel through air and water by a transmitter. Then echoes bounce off as reflections from the surface of objects which are caught by a receiver. The object’s distance can be even calculated.
3. Satellite imaging: Satellites can produce images from 450km above the earth surface. Buzzards and eagles have similar abilities.
4. Thermal imaging: Melanophila beetles and pit vipers can sense their target with infrared sensing organs. Thermographic cameras were made to perform the same role for humans.
5. Ultrasound: The human ears can pick up sounds in frequencies ranging from 20Hz to 20,000Hz. Bats outsmart that with an outstanding ability to hear ultrasound up to 150,000KHz. In medicine, very high frequency sound waves can produce images and are used for viewing the image of an unborn foetus in ultrasounds.
6. Ultraviolet Sensors: Birds have an amazing ability to see four colour wave lengths while humans can only perceive three. Humans also have a mimic of this extraordinary ability that we call the UV Sensor or UV Light used in medical and security fields.
These are only few of the vast advancements realized in the study of human and animal perception. Take a break and ponder a bit.
About the Writer: Bello Muhammad is a graduate of Biological Sciences. He is passionate about education and personal development. He is also a lover of chess who has featured in the West African University Games for his institution. You can contact him via email: slimophobia@live.com or call 08152501891, 08139167000 or 07085354059.
