Sentient: What Animals Reveal About Human Senses

I absolutely adored "Sentient" and couldn't put it down. The myriad of details, extraordinary facts and intricate information had me hooked from the beginning. The creatures all extraordinary, and a focus of detail on such positive links between the animal kingdom and our own senses and abilities was a much needed uplift in the midst of a time with gloomy news on a global and environmental stage.I applaud Jackie, her knowledge is second to none, and she writes with a lightness of touch which is beguiling and calmly didactic at the same time. Entrancing.

We got the audio book which wonderfully narrated and the book, for the most part, is well researched. There is a chapter which touches briefly on Autism that I feel does a massive disservice to those who are autistic and the author could have better researched this if they felt the need to include it in the book.

I'm a real fan of the 'popular zoology' genre, and I usually have one of these on the go. 'Other Minds' is a recent highlight, and 'Beyond Words: How animals think and feel'. 'Death at Seaworld' was a particular favourite of mine due to the fascinating insights into orca natural habits. And so it was that I picked up 'Sentient'...I'm not yet finished, but I felt I had to write something down here to record how much I am enjoying this excellent book. I imagine the trick with making zoology writing accessible is to somehow balance observation of our human experience of the animals, and our insights into their lives, with the scientific exploration that ultimately provides the meat in the sandwich. Jackie Higgins is the magician who has fully mastered this trick, and can perform it again and again without the audience ever figuring it out.We start with the crowd-pleasing mantish shrimp, the serial-monogamist hero of a hundred thousand youtube videos, fighting it out on those sub-aquatic mean streets to bring home food for his oversized gf. But what's that? The shrimp is not just a tough guy, he also sees in colours that are unimaginable to the human mind. The author expands in detail on why we can assume that this thinking man's crustacean, armed with a paintbrush, would have a sensibility for colour that would crush Turner or Monet.I recommend this book and hope you will enjoy it as much as I am.

Very accessible with discrete chapters on different senses. Great for the bedside table and to read a chapter or two a night. Well crafted to make it an easy read whilst still giving you access to cutting edge science. The more we learn and know, the more we realize how much is still unknown. If you were ever a fan of Stephen Jay Gould's books you should read this book.

I was amazed by the ways animals sense the world, but was more amazed by what they can teach us about ourselves and our perception. It was so beautifully and poetically written, I floated through the entire book and reached the end before I wanted to. I wish more books were like this. I cannot recommend it more if you want to feel joyful and full of wonder. You don’t need to be a scientist or a biologist, you just need to be human. Everyone should read it. I’d give it ten stars if I could ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is an extraordinary book about discovery, and we all like a good treasure hunt. The various forms of life on Earth have been moulded by their particular environment. This is especially true of our senses. The human mind is very inquisitive. There are specialists all over the globe pursuing their personal quests of discovery in this field. Individually, their work is not that interesting, but the author of Sentient has painstakingly drawn together their stories and research and produced a gem. By choosing a list of creatures that exhibit highly developed individual senses, and relating them to our own versions, we learn that maybe there is some latency within us to share this outperformance. This is of particular interest to those with impaired senses, who naturally develop higher sensitivity in the remaining ones. This is an exciting read, and flows quickly in an entertaining style, with many amusing anecdotes. Give the crime thrillers and biographies a rest, and learn more about ourselves, and the precious World we live in. Tim

Loved learning about the fascinating world of animal senses, just so amazing and alien - and especially learning from them more about our own senses, and how they are so much more varied and complex than I ever knew. Very enjoyably written for the lay person and will definitely be giving copies to friends! Highly recommended.

This is a brilliant book - so accessible and beautifully written for scientists and non scientists alike. Cannot recommend it more - and full of surprises and learning.

Muy interesante y bien escrito

A very informative book based on a clever idea : writing about human senses by comparing them with those of animals with specific abilities such as the peacock mantis shrimp with eyes that can see many more colour nuances than ours (but a brain unable to treat the information) or migrating birds having an amazing sense of direction. One animal epitomizes the sense that is dealt with in each chapter.The writing style feels lively, alternating careful descriptions with examples and occasional anecdotes or quotes from scientists the author met. Things are carefully explained with a nicely varied vocabulary. Besides the book's main subject I also enjoyed perceiving the enquiring mind and the creativity required by scientific research (to devise tools and experiments that can measure senses that are more refined than ours, for instance).Even though some points or concepts can feel a bit more difficult to grasp, esp. when complex devices are used for observations, Ms Higgins describes things in a very accurate, progressive way. However, I wish the publisher had inserted a few pictures and diagrams (ex: human inner ear and our sense of balance or the earth’s magnetic field to which migrating animal seems to be sensitive). I occasionally had to surf for illustrations while reading.I’m afraid Picador made a couple of inadequate choices in order to save on costs for the 2021 printed edition. There is a rich section with final notes but no numbers in the text that would allow easy, effective cross-referencing, for instance. However, even without proper access to the final notes and references the book is definitely worth reading!We obviously have many more than the five senses listed by Aristotle. You’ll find out about some of them in this book.

Dass Buch ist nicht nur unterhaltsam geschrieben, sondern beleuchtet auch interessante Facetten der Zoologie, die auch für den Menschen relevant sind. Nicht nur für Biologen!

A must read - absolutely wonderful .A fascinating and incredibly inspiring book that catches the poetry and romance of science . Absolutely loved reading it , so beautifully written , and so much to learn about us and all the incredible senses we unconsciously rely on daily, definitely the best and most fascinating book I have read this year.Working in movie and script writing - this was as effortless and enjoyable as watching a film.Also -it is such a beautiful made book - wonderful illustrations , a perfect gift for someone who you love . A book to endlessly return to and treasure for years . Couldn’t recommend more . It is a gem .

The best introduction to the realm of the sensesThe author uses animal models to explain what and how humans perceive. With many examples she demonstrates that perception is mediated by the peripheral sense organs, but in each of the cases the brain is needed to interpret the signals from the outer and inner worlds.