Senses & Perception
From photons, sound waves and molecules to experience: vision, hearing, touch, pain, smell, taste, balance and illusions.
10 articles
Senses & Perception
Intermediate
Hearing
From air pressure waves to music and speech: the eardrum and ossicles, the cochlea's piano-keyboard of hair cells, sound localisation with microsecond precision, hearing loss and cochlear implants.
October 2, 2026 · 3 min read
Senses & Perception
Beginner
Smell and Taste
Hundreds of odour receptor types, the direct road from nose to emotion and memory, five basic tastes, the debunked tongue map — and why flavour is mostly smell.
September 17, 2026 · 3 min read
Senses & Perception
Beginner
How the Senses Work
Every sense follows the same basic recipe: specialised receptor cells convert energy into electrical signals, which travel along dedicated pathways to the brain — where perception is constructed, not simply received.
April 30, 2026 · 3 min read
Senses & Perception
Beginner
Perception and Illusions
What illusions reveal about how the brain constructs reality: top-down expectations, the Müller-Lyer lines, the Ames room, change blindness, the invisible gorilla and the McGurk effect.
April 20, 2026 · 3 min read
Senses & Perception
Beginner
Touch and the Somatosensory System
Four kinds of touch receptor, the Piezo2 channel behind the 2021 Nobel Prize, the pathways to the brain and the sensory homunculus — how skin becomes a sense.
April 11, 2026 · 3 min read
Senses & Perception
Intermediate
Color Vision
Three kinds of cones, opponent channels, colour constancy and the dress: how the brain turns three signals into millions of colours — and why some people see colours differently.
March 17, 2026 · 3 min read
Senses & Perception
Intermediate
Interoception: Sensing Your Inner Body
Heartbeat, breathing, hunger, a full bladder: how the brain senses the state of the body from the inside, the role of the insula, and links to emotion, anxiety and wellbeing.
March 6, 2026 · 2 min read
Senses & Perception
Intermediate
Vision: From Eye to Brain
How light becomes sight: rods and cones in the retina, the blind spot, the optic chiasm, the thalamus, the primary visual cortex and the 'what' and 'where' streams.
February 28, 2026 · 3 min read
Senses & Perception
Intermediate
Balance and Proprioception
The hidden senses: the vestibular system's spinning canals and gravity sensors, the reflex that keeps your vision steady, motion sickness, and the muscle sensors that tell you where your limbs are.
February 13, 2026 · 3 min read
Senses & Perception
Intermediate
Pain and How the Brain Feels It
Nociceptors, fast and slow pain, the capsaicin receptor, the gate control theory, people who feel no pain, chronic pain and the power of placebo — why pain is an experience made by the brain.
November 19, 2025 · 3 min read