Our Senses: An Immersive Experience

In this dense companion volume to the American Museum of Natural History’s exhibition of the same name, AMNH curator DeSalle (Welcome to the Microbiome, with Susan L. Perkins) aims to make sense of the senses and how they “shape our perception of the world.” Rather than organize his material according to the major senses (sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, and balance), DeSalle’s approach integrates the fields of evolution, genetics, neuroanatomy, and human variability and plasticity. DeSalle clearly explains the scientific experiments that support his assertions, but the superfluous background he offers often disrupts the narrative and occasionally leads to a loss of focus. Though chapters covering the history of human neurology can feel rehashed, DeSalle’s enthusiasm blossoms when he discusses cross-modal sensory responses and the “kluge” of competing elements that make up the human brain. In addition to showcasing extreme demonstrations of trauma-induced brain changes and hallucinations, DeSalle also notably focuses on associations between sounds and figures made by average people, such as between hard sounds and pointy figures and soft sounds and blobby figures, and on synesthesia seen in normal infant development. Unfortunately, despite an interest in expanding the limits of human sensation, DeSalle barely addresses cutting-edge technologies that modify human perception. DeSalle’s familiarity with his material is unparalleled, but the book doesn’t quite meet expectations. Illus. (Jan.)