An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us (Kindle Edition) by Ed Yong

I have never thought about the possibility that four eyes (like in a wandering tiger spider) might actually “see” two different things: far away blurs and close, sharp vision for prey.

I had never really understood how far blue whale song travels, or thought about the constant unheard-by-human chorus of insect songs going on underneath what I can hear.

This book is profoundly enlightening, disturbing, and challenging. It is wondrous at the same time. As the author goes over different senses, including ones humans don’t commonly think about (electric, ultraviolet, geomagnetic) he challenges the reader to think outside our own Umwelt (the way we experience the world).

There is science here, lots of discussions about neurons and anatomy, but its fascinating and delivered at exactly the right pace in between stories of the animals the author encounters in his studies.

I deeply recommend this book to all, not just science lovers, but anyone willing to think deeply about the world and humanity’s place in it.

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