I'm taking an online psychology class this summer and I'm supposed to ask the following questions of at least 6 people. I would appreciate it if someone would take the time to help me out. Thanks in advance.


If you had to give up one sense which sense would you give up?

Why?

What would your life be like?

Humor. Because I don't use it anyway.

I have done this mental exercise before, my thoughts:
Sight - No. This would be the most difficult to give up. I know there are millions of people that do not have or lost their sight, but I could not live without being able to see.

Touch - I couldn't not "give up" this sense. To not be able to feel anything would be miserable. I could not do everyday things, drive, hug my family, cut food, type, or play any sport.

Taste - No. There is no way I would give this up

Smell - It would be difficult to give this one up as it works in concert with taste

Hear - I love music. I love nature. I use their sounds for comfort. My hearing is damaged and I know that it will progressively worsen as I age. I could cope with a loss of hearing. It would still be difficult as I couldn't hear my wife or my family, but for the purposes of this exercise this is what I would choose. I would have to rely on more written and visual communications. I could not listen to any more music and my life would have lost it's soundtrack. I wouldn't be able to enjoy television or movies like I do now, nor would I be able to talk on the phone without aid. I would have to learn sign language again (I was able to when I was younger, but I have not used it in so long, I have forgotten most of it) Without hearing, we'd eventually lose the ability to speak as we have to hear ourselves to correct how we sound. I would be able to talk normally for a little while but it too would fade.

Smell or taste. I would have to do some testing to see which one effected eating the most.

It would have to be the sense of smell.

Smell usually accents other things.

Smell is something most take more for granted than other senses.

I would not be able to smell my own Farts. I would not be able to smell perfume on a woman. I would not have the aroma of a nice meal to wet my taste buds.

I would not be warned of danger from smoke for a fire.

I would want to lose the sense of taste, if I had to lose one. I eat too much anyway and always struggle with weight gain... maybe making my food bland will help?

Most of the rest of my life would be relatively unaffected without taste.

No-brainer, smell. Countless smells I hate, only a few I like.

Taste. Maybe I could actually tolerate some of the foods that I know are good for me, but can't stand the taste of (like, pretty much everything except red meat and potatoes).

I doubt it would significantly impact my life. Maybe add a few years to my lifespan, maybe make me a little healthier, maybe make me so incredibly depressed that I off myself (making the first two potential benefits moot).

Taste and smell are intertwined, so I'd give up my tastebuds pretty quick.

_________________

World of Warcraft: Kallaystra, Gweila, Steakumn, Tarathia [ Feathermoon/Horde ]

Just an update.

Thanks for the replies, here is what I came up with. Not that interesting, but I thought some people might want to know.

I think that if you're *born* deaf or blind, then it's a lot different than suddenly losing hearing/sight and having to adapt.

_________________

World of Warcraft: Kallaystra, Gweila, Steakumn, Tarathia [ Feathermoon/Horde ]

Without smell food would taste like shit, think of when you had a bad cold.
Loss of hearing can often be corrected and would eliminate a lot of annoyances.

I guess I assumed the premise of the question was correct in that we would only lose "ONE" sense, since it's hypothetical in the first place =p

Otherwise, we boil it down to any number of high school "whatif" neener neener scenarios. Obviously if I lost my hearing, it was because a grenade exploded near me during a war and I must have lost my vision then too from the shrapnel! Zomg if I lose my hearing I lose my sight.

Also, I still taste things pretty well even when I have a cold(varies from person to person, depends on sweetness/sodium content, etc).

Taste is also an excellent way to eat better, actually. People that start eating healthy often lose their appetite for fatty foods after being on the regimen for a while... due in part to.. /drumroll... taste! Lose taste, lose that extra incentive. Though, granted, not much down side when you can't taste, but what's the point of losing it when it's a net loss? =)

I'd lose my hearing. My life would be much the way it is now, except my primary language would be ASL in person, and would continue being English on the Internet.