(cbr15bingo - Strange Worlds square)
It's common knowledge that dogs can smell better than humans and eagles can see better than humans--although even that idea is sometimes hard to wrap my head around. But what about the animals that experience the world in ways we can't even imagine? They don't just see farther than us, but they see in colors not available to us. Or they feel the electromagnetic pulse of living creatures instead of touch. Ed Yong dives into the stories of different animals and their sensory experiences in An Immense World (2022).
I first saw An Immense World on Barack Obama's reading list and was immediately interested. I love learning about animals and animal behavior, so this book was right up my alley. Yong begins his book with the senses and animals we are most familiar with: dogs and smelling. He describes the physical characteristics of the dog's nose and brain, and how they work to make them such incredible scent tracers. It was very interesting. I'd never noticed the little comma-like openings on the sides of the dogs nose before, and I didn't realize that this helps them recirculate air so they can recognize scents better. It really made me appreciate and (try to) understand my dog a little more.
But Yong quickly moves on to other senses. I learned that many birds (but the hummingbird especially) can see ultraviolet light. Many of the birds we see and find colorful are much more exquisite from a bird's perspective. In addition, many animals have a sense of touch, but at least one wasp species can feel with the tip of its stinger--so it knows when it hits the brain of its prey.
Bats that can "see" by echolocating and dolphins that use sonar are also very impressive. But I didn't know that a small number of blind people have figured out how to make sense of their world by echolocating as well. It made me want to try it, but even the idea was too intimidating. (It also takes many years and it might help if you're blind and more used to relying on hearing.)
Yong goes on and on, discussing electric eels, elephants, whales, and many other animals. It was fascinating and eye opening. I learned a lot, and it has made me think about the world in a different way. My only complaint is that it sometimes went a little too deep into the science that I felt could be difficult to understand.
*Nitpick - Yong mentions in a footnote that Gollum from LOTR is entirely unscientific because many animals who live in caves go blind as it is a waste of resources to keep a sense that doesn't help you. Okay, first of all, Gollum is a made up character in a fantasy series. Second, not long after calling Gollum out, Yong writes that "other animals have evolved exceptionally large eyes and wide pupils." (75) Hmmm.
"But every animal can only tap into a small fraction of reality's fullness." (5)
"But to me, the idea is wonderfully expansive. It tells us that all is not as it seems and that everything we experience is but a filtered version of everything that we could experience. It reminds us that there is light in darkness, noise in silence, richness in nothingness." (14)
"Only later did it occur to me that...their seeming interchangeability said more about my limited understanding than it did about their limited distinctions." (348)
"Idealizing a distant wilderness too often means not idealizing the environment in which we actually live, the landscape that for better or worse we call home." (353)
"Wilderness is not distant. We are continually immersed in it. It is there for us to imagine, to savor, and to protect." (353)
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