20211227 : mind's senses

When I had the stroke, after I could realise what was happening, I found the doctors come every morning and pinch me or create some pain/ discomfort at various places and ask me if could feel it.

These were days I could move only the eyes vertically . Couldn't even move them sideways. I was instructed to "look up" for 'yes' and "look down" for 'no'. So there was a lots of looking up.

Unfortunately, there was no follow up question "does it pain". So I was easy game every morning.

Also, the limited vocabulary didn't allow me to give a full response.

The actual response would have been - "yes", "but it doesn't feel the same way as earlier. I can feel when you touch me. But I can't feel the pressure. The touch at the skin level doesn't feel like it used to. If we fall asleep on the hand, and wake up, the hand is numb. If someone touches us, we can feel. But it is a wierd feeling. That's how it feels"

But I could only "look up".

That was in the beginning. I have felt very weirdly ever since - in various places in various intensities. even now.

Is the "skin" damaged? Looks fine. I just don't feel the same touch the same way as others.

The smell has been very poor. I have some sense of smell but far from how it was.

The first time I realised I could not smell was when they did a diaper change after giving enema. They had to crack up the fan, wear a mask, and looked very troubled.

But I could not smell anything.

Some smells, mildly, I get now. Still very far from what it was.

Nothing wrong with the nostrils, but I smell different.

I can't taste much. There are very limited things anyway as I can't eat anything.

But I know because they give me mouth care everyday. A reasonably strong mouthwash along with salt is used. But I taste nothing much. A little bit of the mouthwash and no salt.

Nothing is wrong with the tongue (taste buds to be precise). But I taste different. 

The left ear is ok, the right one hears all weird things. For a long time, it heard nothing. 

Nothing wrong with the ear or the listening apparatus, but I hear different.

The left eye is rotting for a different reason. But the right eye plays its tricks..

I realised very recently (when we patched up the left side for a check up, that I was still having double vision. With 1 eye, I was seeing 2! In fact, that day, when it was checked and dilated, I was distinctly seeing 3 images - with 1 eye!

When I change my gaze, things come into focus very slowly. I think that is because even though the sight (optic nerve) goes directly to the brain, the lens expansion/ contraction to focus, is done by the peripheral nervous system - which is fried.

Nothing wrong with the eye (usual power complaint), but I see different. 

While we have many other perceptions, it is generally accepted that we sense everything with these 5 senses. 

As I said above, all the 5 sense organs are intact.

What the brain puts together is very different.

The mind interprets after that, makes some additions, some deletions, adds a transformation layer and makes up the perception of the world. 

Each of us, because we are the same species, have evolved the same way, have similar senses, similarly interpreting brains and similar minds and hence perceive the world similarly.

That is how one can agree with another. When one points at something and says it is Red, the other perceives similarly and agrees.

But if we put a colour blind person and a regular person in a room, and they both don't know about the colour blindness, it is impossible to get either of them to concede - because both are very correct.

That is only sight. The same applies to all the senses.

If someone has a differently functioning sense organ, or a differently functioning brain or a differently functioning mind - they look physically similar but are in an altogether different world.

We understand how most animals perceive the world. 

We know how their sense organs are built and we can reasonably predict how they probably sense.

We know how their brains are built and we have a relative estimate of what it must be interpreting/ putting together.

But how are they perceiving the world through their minds??

In comparison with many animals, We (humans) have a reasonably weak body, a very limited and diminished set of senses. A very powerful brain and what we assume to be a very powerful mind.

What if some animal brains are lesser in comparison but they have a superior mind.

What if they share the same physical planet but live in a completely different world.

We assume what they perceive, but what if they are laughing at us saying "ya right! Like you folks would know"...