We have 5 senses, or do we? I have recently finished reading a book that I highly recommend for anyone interested in the natural world, wildlife, insects, birds or fish - you name it Ed Yong covers is in his book An Immense World.

He talks about our sensory bubble which is the part of an animal’s surroundings that it can sense and experience - its perceptual world which he describes as their umwelt (a German word meaning environment or surroundings). I really like that description as it helps me to recognize that the way humans perceive the world is not the same as other animals or insects. In fact when a person, animal or insect perceives the world differently we can have difficulty understanding or relating.

Yong talks about senses being divided into chemical and mechanical categories with magnetic properties being part of one or both of those classifications.