What do you think?
Rate this book
Fearfully and Wonderfully Made: The Astonishing New Science of the Senses
The Next Big Idea Club, August 2023 Must-Read Book
In 2016, scientists proved that humans could see light at the level of a single photon. We are living in historic times when humans may look at the very fabric of the universe in a laboratory setting. Around the world, other recent discoveries about the senses are just as astounding. It turns out we can hear amplitudes smaller than an atom, smell a trillion scents, have a set of taste buds that can discern molecules of fresh water, and can feel through the sense of touch the difference of a single molecule.
Fearfully and Wonderfully Made takes readers through their own bodies, delving into the molecular and even the quantum, and tells the story of our magnificent sensorium and what it means for the next wave of human potential. From the laboratories to the ordinary homes where these breakthroughs are taking place, the book explores our current sensory Renaissance and shows readers how they, themselves, can heighten their own senses and experience the miraculous.
In 2016, scientists proved that humans could see light at the level of a single photon. We are living in historic times when humans may look at the very fabric of the universe in a laboratory setting. Around the world, other recent discoveries about the senses are just as astounding. It turns out we can hear amplitudes smaller than an atom, smell a trillion scents, have a set of taste buds that can discern molecules of fresh water, and can feel through the sense of touch the difference of a single molecule.
Fearfully and Wonderfully Made takes readers through their own bodies, delving into the molecular and even the quantum, and tells the story of our magnificent sensorium and what it means for the next wave of human potential. From the laboratories to the ordinary homes where these breakthroughs are taking place, the book explores our current sensory Renaissance and shows readers how they, themselves, can heighten their own senses and experience the miraculous.
272 pages, Hardcover
Published August 8, 2023
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
October 26, 2023
I had no idea my experience was so different from other people’s. Now I’m convinced that everybody has their own unique holographic experience of the sensory world.”--------------------------------------
Synesthesia has been incorrectly defined, in my humble opinion, as “crossed wires in the brain” or “mixed-up senses.” In fact, synesthetes have the same primary response to a stimulus as neurotypical people do. If the numeral 5 appears in newsprint, I know that it is black on a white (well, somewhat beige) background. However, simultaneously, I see navy blue around that number and above that number it, like an aura. Therefore, I’ve created what I believe is a much better definition: Synesthesias are traits in which a sensory stimulus yields the expected sensory response plus one or more additional sensory responses.For myself, I have always been on the lower end of the taste/smell sensitivity bell curve, presuming there to be such a thing. I have always attributed this to the DNA luck of the draw. Some of it, though, might be a product of my homemaker mother’s abilities as a cook. There were a few things she made that were mouth-watering, but for the most part, it was said of Mom that she had a close relationship with Chef-Boyardee. Thus, it is no shock that my appreciation for cuisine exists in a narrow range. As smell is closely associated with taste, the two have traveled this low experiential road together. But maybe there is some hope for me and for folks with limitations like mine Maybe there are ways to expand the range of flavors and aromas we can detect and enjoy. (Make real friends with our taste buds?) That possibility is one of the points that Maureen Seaberg makes in her new book, Fearfully and Wonderfully Made. There are several others.
Maureen Seaberg - image from Amazon
Seaberg is a synesthete, gifted with abilities beyond the average. Even within that, she is a tetrachromat, proud possessor of four sets of visual cones to our usual kit of three. She has used this extra-sightedness to help a cosmetics firm produce more pleasing hues. She is also a mirror-touch synesthete, which means that she can feel your pain, really.
Patricia Lynne Duffy, a member of the United Nations Staff 1 Percent for Development Fund committee, was safely ensconced in her Manhattan office, but when she read the proposals before her, she felt the pain of the world’s most fragile people.She is the author of multiple books on her personal experience as a sensory anomaly, and others looking into the science of what makes us different. Among these are Tasting the Universe, Struck by Genius, and The Synesthesia Experience.
While highlighting the differences in human capacity, Seaberg argues that we are all potentially synesthetes, but that our acculturation has defined limits to what our senses regard as the human range. She says we are capable of much more, and cites sundry studies to show our surprising range. One shows that we can detect light down to a single photon.
Is it that we are all, or most of us, or many of us, capable of experiencing, sensing much more of our world that we have to date? Are these tools in our toolbox that we have merely never been trained to use? Seaberg uses the examples of many people who are either synesthetes, or who have naturally enhanced capabilities to argue that we could be experiencing much, much more than we do. She also notes people who, through traumatic events, (a mugging in one case) have subsequently displayed enhanced capacities, supporting the notion that we all may have considerable untapped potential. One surprising element here is her reporting on the benefits of the Montessori teaching method, which encourages multi-sensate learning.
She suggests we incorporate into our psychological and medical frameworks the notion of a Perception Quotient, or PQ. Just as we have for our rational processing with the intelligence Quotient, or IQ, and EQ for Emotional abilities.
Seaberg spends some time with the question of transhumanism, the notion that people can evolve beyond our current biological constraints by incorporating connections (merging?) with technology. She argues against such, contending that our realized and latent capacities can take us a lot further than we have gone, without the need for electronic enhancement.
There’s plenty of evidence that humans are adapting to, even passing, machines by using their senses. Just look at the mind-meld young people have with their personal devices and the manual deftness with which they use them compared to older generations. Maybe the singularity moves in two directions, and we meet somewhere along the way. There’s a human-based component not yet considered. And since we’ve recently learned that human sensory potentials are far greater than we knew, perhaps we have a little more time to think about the value of being Homo sapiens.In a related vein, she notes that there are mirror-touch synesthetes who blur those lines.
A very small subset of the neurological outliers known as mirror-touch synesthetes have extreme empathy for machines. They are sometimes able to feel the mechanisms in their own sensitive bodies. I call them machine synesthetes or machine empaths.She touches on some even more esoteric subjects, like the remote viewing program sponsored by the USA military from the 1970s into the 1990s, and the possibility of consciousness permeating more of our biosphere than we may have realized.
If you are looking for a how-to re expanding your sensate horizons I would look elsewhere. The prompts offered for that here are introductory at best. Seaberg does offer some other places to go for that. This is more a treatise on the possibility of capacity expansion, not a manual for expanding ourselves.
If we are indeed the architects of our own reality, it is clear that some of us have been gifted with a superior toolkit for interpreting what we see, hear, smell, taste, and touch, in that construction process. Maybe for the rest of us there are some tools in the basement or shed that have been gathering dust all our lives, tools that can be cleaned off, greased up, and maybe even powered up. It may or may not be a widespread opportunity, but it is certainly a hopeful and very interesting one. In trying to make sense of senses, Maureen Seaberg has written a fascinating, accessible work on human possibility that should stimulate your curiosity, whether or not you experience collateral sounds, colors, scents or other incomings. Checking this book out would definitely be sensible.
“We genuinely experience scent as the emotion we have attached to it,” one sensory educator said. “Our hearts lift at the aroma that reminds us of a happy day at the beach, or our hearts break a little when we smell the aroma of a long-dead relative’s soap.”
Review posted - 10/20/23
Publication date – 8/8/23
I received an ARE of Fearfully and Wonderfully Made from St. Martin’s Press in return for a fair review. Thanks, folks, and thanks to NetGalley for facilitating.
This review is cross-posted on my site, Coot’s Reviews. Stop by and say Hi!
=============================EXTRA STUFF
Links to the author’s personal, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter pages
Interviews
-----Audacy - The Science of Synesthesia and Super Sensors - audio - 30 min
-----PSIfest 2023 – Curious Realm - Maureen Seaberg @PSIFest 2023 - Video – 27:01
Songs/Music
-----Rollingstones - She’s a Rainbow - maybe another form of synesthesia
Items of Interest
-----Untapped Cities - THE SECRET COLORS OF NYC: HOW MAC’S NEW COLOR TALENT SEES THE CITY DIFFERENTLY THAN YOU by Owen Shapiro
-----Charlotte McConaghy’s wonderful novel, Once There Were Wolves, offers a fictional look at someone with mirror-touch synesthesia
-----Wiki - Montessori Method
-----Wiki - The Stargate Project - remote viewing by the military
-----Wiki - Transhumanism
-----Optimax - Tetrachromacy: Do you have superhuman vision?
May 6, 2023
What an interesting read! This book will really get you thinking about your senses, your mind, and the universe. Are we really using all we can? Is there more? How does technology work with our senses? We take so much for granted, but can we learn to expand our senses to change or enhance our perception or intuition. This book touches on all this and more.
July 26, 2023
I received this Advanced Reader Copy from Goodreads and St. Martin's Press.
This was so interesting! Seaberg explains about people who are extra-sensory, those who have all our senses but one or more are heightened. Why some people of heightened senses is not really known but it was fascinating to learn about how the 'extra' manifests in each sense.
People who have synesthesia are called synesthetes. The word “synesthesia” comes from the Greek words: “synth” (which means “together”) and “ethesia” (which means “perception). Synesthetes can often “see” music as colors when they hear it, and “taste” textures like “round” or “pointy” when they eat foods.
For example, people with ADHD may be overwhelmed with sound or colour and this makes it hard for them to concentrate. She even suggested that Vincent Van Gogh may have been a synesthete and this may have have contributed to his use of brilliant colour and unfortunately, his poor mental health. I found this tidbit fascinating because I have just finished reading two books (one fiction and one non-fiction) about Van Gogh's life and his struggles.
I have read about people who see colours in music or certain words so I was not entirely unaware.
This was so interesting! Seaberg explains about people who are extra-sensory, those who have all our senses but one or more are heightened. Why some people of heightened senses is not really known but it was fascinating to learn about how the 'extra' manifests in each sense.
People who have synesthesia are called synesthetes. The word “synesthesia” comes from the Greek words: “synth” (which means “together”) and “ethesia” (which means “perception). Synesthetes can often “see” music as colors when they hear it, and “taste” textures like “round” or “pointy” when they eat foods.
For example, people with ADHD may be overwhelmed with sound or colour and this makes it hard for them to concentrate. She even suggested that Vincent Van Gogh may have been a synesthete and this may have have contributed to his use of brilliant colour and unfortunately, his poor mental health. I found this tidbit fascinating because I have just finished reading two books (one fiction and one non-fiction) about Van Gogh's life and his struggles.
I have read about people who see colours in music or certain words so I was not entirely unaware.
August 8, 2023
Readers are introduced to the five senses in the human body: smell, sight, taste, touch, and hearing. This isn’t your typical science book; we’re introduced to a slew of super-smellers who can detect diseases, and Covid by simply smelling an individual’s clothing.
We’re taken back in time, reflecting on the writings from Galileo Galilei, learning about how the universe wouldn’t exist without our senses understanding the world around us.
I learned more from this book than I have in any science class that I took over the years. I probably didn’t pay much attention when I was younger, but now I understand how sensational our bodies are and how much people are dependent on technology instead of experiencing and experimenting with their senses.
This book takes the saying “you learn something new everyday” to a whole new ballpark. The science behind our senses is astonishing, the super-humans with their heightened senses are saving lives, and scientists are conducting experiments to better understand our bodies and fully expand our senses.
We’re taken back in time, reflecting on the writings from Galileo Galilei, learning about how the universe wouldn’t exist without our senses understanding the world around us.
I learned more from this book than I have in any science class that I took over the years. I probably didn’t pay much attention when I was younger, but now I understand how sensational our bodies are and how much people are dependent on technology instead of experiencing and experimenting with their senses.
This book takes the saying “you learn something new everyday” to a whole new ballpark. The science behind our senses is astonishing, the super-humans with their heightened senses are saving lives, and scientists are conducting experiments to better understand our bodies and fully expand our senses.
February 7, 2024
This book is very… I don’t even know the word to use here I’m actually annoyed! The fact that she used these exact words for the title has me so frustrated. This is a very evolutionist centered book, with Buddhist undertones, and the fact that she used a very popular phrase from a Bible verse is kind of baffling. I did finish this book and still felt that it was lacking. I felt a lot of it was just written out of the authors experience, and not so much the scientific fact.
September 17, 2023
Despite the word “science” on the cover, this book is extremely light on real scientific understanding of the senses. The majority of the book is about the author’s philosophy and experiences around tetrachromacy and synesthesia (which was profoundly uninteresting to me). If you are expecting to find a book about the science of the senses, this is not that.
August 17, 2023
This physically, emotionally and spiritually availing book is figured to reveal many accustomed attributes representative to the personification of ace investigation and virtuoso authorship. Maureen Seaberg, in this (her most recent publish), exhibits a comprehensive effort to painstakingly find, account for, manage and arrange all of the elements deemed necessary to accomplish such a great literary achievement and offering.
I’d like to put forth that (with this book) Maureen shows, in stellar timeliness and resonate poignancy, a forthright and daring effort to tread fearfully - with great care - for taking readers on well-defined noetic journeys through such realms realized to some of the greatest intellectual wonders currently confronting humans collectively and respectively whereby, during these times of such apparent change, so many people still wish to graciously adhere a seeming innate urge to aid, connect (with) and struggle with those species born naturally to this planet more than overseeing further full-system capitulation toward any fashion of media-driven romanticization to notions of a ‘silicon god’ of ‘all-knowingness’ and ‘supreme sense’ in how such a thing could somehow inevitably prove to be better (than us) stewards for all interests germane to Earth, as imperfect as we are indeed.
Maureen clearly has many gifts, as showcased throughout this book, which display to serve her unique knack well for sensing and making sense of so many matters; of a particular perspicaciousness that arguably depends directly upon her individuation and craft developed over time for writing into existence, of enjoyably effortless flows and stream, such seeable dynamism (per whatever thing discussed) that sensations of appreciation may actually be found within while reading about such serious topics. The proof is once again in the pudding :)
I personally give much thanks that she decided to bring this book to market. Although perhaps bold to say, this great book seems quite capable to ring home much around terribly important messaging concerning AI, transhumanism and so forth, whilst one may wish to consider themselves a complete thinker regarding such matters and/or scenarios possible to develop on the horizon.
I highly recommend this book.
Sincerely,
Craig Matheson
I’d like to put forth that (with this book) Maureen shows, in stellar timeliness and resonate poignancy, a forthright and daring effort to tread fearfully - with great care - for taking readers on well-defined noetic journeys through such realms realized to some of the greatest intellectual wonders currently confronting humans collectively and respectively whereby, during these times of such apparent change, so many people still wish to graciously adhere a seeming innate urge to aid, connect (with) and struggle with those species born naturally to this planet more than overseeing further full-system capitulation toward any fashion of media-driven romanticization to notions of a ‘silicon god’ of ‘all-knowingness’ and ‘supreme sense’ in how such a thing could somehow inevitably prove to be better (than us) stewards for all interests germane to Earth, as imperfect as we are indeed.
Maureen clearly has many gifts, as showcased throughout this book, which display to serve her unique knack well for sensing and making sense of so many matters; of a particular perspicaciousness that arguably depends directly upon her individuation and craft developed over time for writing into existence, of enjoyably effortless flows and stream, such seeable dynamism (per whatever thing discussed) that sensations of appreciation may actually be found within while reading about such serious topics. The proof is once again in the pudding :)
I personally give much thanks that she decided to bring this book to market. Although perhaps bold to say, this great book seems quite capable to ring home much around terribly important messaging concerning AI, transhumanism and so forth, whilst one may wish to consider themselves a complete thinker regarding such matters and/or scenarios possible to develop on the horizon.
I highly recommend this book.
Sincerely,
Craig Matheson
December 9, 2023
I really wanted this book to be something different, and I thought that it was going to be something different for a while. It started out talking about the extremes of human perception like test subjects potentially seeing a single photon. That's really freaking cool. Also the phenomena of having 4 different types of cone cells in the eye instead of the ordinary 3, so they can see different colors that people typically can't.
Then it starts getting into synesthesia where something is perceived by someone with more senses than usual, like smelling or tasting colors. It starts getting a little woo woo here. It in one place will state something like purple has a taste, and it isn't grape, as if that is some sort of definitive statement, and then much later one individual will experience a number as a particular color, and another individual will see the same number as a different color. The initial statement of purple does not taste like grape sounds like a statement that has been demonstrated empirically, but then something that shows how individual and dare I say anecdotal it gets comes up. I don't consider myself as having synesthesia, but a particular shade of purple is very much associated in my mind with the taste of grape Hubba Bubba.
I also was iffy on the author positing that PQ, or Perceptual Quotient (or something like that) should be considered a form of intelligence. Here the author completely lost me. It almost felt like the book's position is that individuals with synesthesia, and/or "better" senses is a smarter/better individual. There are parts that felt like this was a strong implication. The author seemed to imply that she is smarter and lives a richer life because of her synesthesia. And everyone should work to develop their own synesthesia to live a richer life as well.
Then it starts getting into synesthesia where something is perceived by someone with more senses than usual, like smelling or tasting colors. It starts getting a little woo woo here. It in one place will state something like purple has a taste, and it isn't grape, as if that is some sort of definitive statement, and then much later one individual will experience a number as a particular color, and another individual will see the same number as a different color. The initial statement of purple does not taste like grape sounds like a statement that has been demonstrated empirically, but then something that shows how individual and dare I say anecdotal it gets comes up. I don't consider myself as having synesthesia, but a particular shade of purple is very much associated in my mind with the taste of grape Hubba Bubba.
I also was iffy on the author positing that PQ, or Perceptual Quotient (or something like that) should be considered a form of intelligence. Here the author completely lost me. It almost felt like the book's position is that individuals with synesthesia, and/or "better" senses is a smarter/better individual. There are parts that felt like this was a strong implication. The author seemed to imply that she is smarter and lives a richer life because of her synesthesia. And everyone should work to develop their own synesthesia to live a richer life as well.
July 27, 2023
This wasn’t entirely what I was expecting. When I started it, I thought I was reading a science-based book about how our senses work, and how they’re sharper than we realize. But then, it suddenly started going on about “vibrations,” which felt odd. Then it turned into a personal account of the author’s tetrachromacy and synesthesia, with some commentary that almost felt like eugenics, as if people with super-senses are superior to everyone else. And then it dived sideways into Buddhism, tantra, and meditation, and even started going on about secret government remote sensing programs. As a result, the book felt disjointed and unstructured, trying to cover too much ground and too many disparate perspectives.
The thing is, the fundamental premise of the book is interesting and important.
The prevalent belief is that human senses are pretty mediocre, at least in comparison with many animals. Seaberg argues that they’re actually pretty sharp - we can detect single photons, for example - but that most of us are operating at a very low level of awareness. This is caused partly by our indoor lifestyle, which means we don’t have to be aware of our surroundings, and our lack of training. Hunter-gatherers, nomads, and soldiers generally have much sharper senses than the rest of us, because they are essential survival skills. If we choose to, we can make ourselves much more alert and sensitive. Seaberg closes the book with a simple, but effective ten-step methodology for sharpening our senses.
If the book had focused simply on that aspect, it would have been excellent. However, the rest of the material diluted the message, and would, I think, have been better as a separate book.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in return for an honest review.
The thing is, the fundamental premise of the book is interesting and important.
The prevalent belief is that human senses are pretty mediocre, at least in comparison with many animals. Seaberg argues that they’re actually pretty sharp - we can detect single photons, for example - but that most of us are operating at a very low level of awareness. This is caused partly by our indoor lifestyle, which means we don’t have to be aware of our surroundings, and our lack of training. Hunter-gatherers, nomads, and soldiers generally have much sharper senses than the rest of us, because they are essential survival skills. If we choose to, we can make ourselves much more alert and sensitive. Seaberg closes the book with a simple, but effective ten-step methodology for sharpening our senses.
If the book had focused simply on that aspect, it would have been excellent. However, the rest of the material diluted the message, and would, I think, have been better as a separate book.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in return for an honest review.
December 12, 2023
I have followed Maureen Seaberg's work since 2012 or so. I really appreciate her research and insight into human sensory experience, including those of synesthetes like herself, as well as recent research she cited about regular meditators having enhanced sensory perception.
As someone with a neurodivergent sensory profile myself, and knowing that Seaberg has previously interviewed autistic synesthetes for her Psychology Today blog, I was very interested in finding out more about the sensory differences seen in autistic folks. While that is indeed found in a couple chapters in this book, the research so far is disappointing in terms of reflecting my own personal experience. For instance, unlike the stereotype of autistic people who are hypersensitive to touch, I am the opposite - I am hyposensitive to touch, sometimes called a tactile sensory seeker.
Synesthesia and sensory differences can also occur in human senses that we all have but are less often discussed, like our vestibular sense (sense of balance) and our sense of temperature. I am hypersensitive to heat myself and can't use the oven or stove alone because of this.
I would highly recommend this book to educators and occupational therapists working with folks with sensory differences. I have said for a long time that we need more neurodivergent occupational therapists, and I would have benefitted greatly from having an openly autistic or neurodivergent OT growing up.
Seaberg is correct that there needs to be less stigma around synesthesia and other neurodivergent conditions, and that humanity needs to appreciate the senses we have rather than try to artificially enhance our brains.
As someone with a neurodivergent sensory profile myself, and knowing that Seaberg has previously interviewed autistic synesthetes for her Psychology Today blog, I was very interested in finding out more about the sensory differences seen in autistic folks. While that is indeed found in a couple chapters in this book, the research so far is disappointing in terms of reflecting my own personal experience. For instance, unlike the stereotype of autistic people who are hypersensitive to touch, I am the opposite - I am hyposensitive to touch, sometimes called a tactile sensory seeker.
Synesthesia and sensory differences can also occur in human senses that we all have but are less often discussed, like our vestibular sense (sense of balance) and our sense of temperature. I am hypersensitive to heat myself and can't use the oven or stove alone because of this.
I would highly recommend this book to educators and occupational therapists working with folks with sensory differences. I have said for a long time that we need more neurodivergent occupational therapists, and I would have benefitted greatly from having an openly autistic or neurodivergent OT growing up.
Seaberg is correct that there needs to be less stigma around synesthesia and other neurodivergent conditions, and that humanity needs to appreciate the senses we have rather than try to artificially enhance our brains.
August 13, 2023
I just finished Fearfully and Wonderfully Made: The Astonishing New Science of the Senses by Maureen Seaberg and here are my musings.
Did you know in 2016 that scientists proved that humans could see light at the level of a single photon? This book pulls back the layers of our natural senses to explain just how robust they truly are. This book gives you the ins and outs of what our 5 senses can truly do and the way we use them is just the tip of the iceberg!
I wasn't sure what to expect from this book so I went in a little blind. It was BRILLIANT! I have never read a book that has this beautiful way of offering up information in such a way that I felt like a kid at christmas! I had no idea our sense of smell could recognize trillions of different scents. It's all about our exposure to smells that helps us catalog them for future reference.
I made my husband read it after I was done because this book is right up his alley! It sent me down a rabbit hole of searching for more information based on what the author laid out.
If you read non-fiction or even if you don’t, you should definitely add this one to your TBR and be blown away with facts you didn’t know you were capable of.
4.5 stars thank you @stmartinspress for my gifted copy
Did you know in 2016 that scientists proved that humans could see light at the level of a single photon? This book pulls back the layers of our natural senses to explain just how robust they truly are. This book gives you the ins and outs of what our 5 senses can truly do and the way we use them is just the tip of the iceberg!
I wasn't sure what to expect from this book so I went in a little blind. It was BRILLIANT! I have never read a book that has this beautiful way of offering up information in such a way that I felt like a kid at christmas! I had no idea our sense of smell could recognize trillions of different scents. It's all about our exposure to smells that helps us catalog them for future reference.
I made my husband read it after I was done because this book is right up his alley! It sent me down a rabbit hole of searching for more information based on what the author laid out.
If you read non-fiction or even if you don’t, you should definitely add this one to your TBR and be blown away with facts you didn’t know you were capable of.
4.5 stars thank you @stmartinspress for my gifted copy
August 14, 2023
Fearfully and Wonderfully Made: The Astonishing New Science of the Senses takes us on an educational journey into the burgeoning study of the senses. Many scientific and spiritual sources are referenced and are included in a wide ranging bibliography. The focus is on synesthetes and tetrachromites, which the author describes in great detail, and again includes a number of interviews and references. The author herself is both a synesthete and a tetrachromat. Her hope is that by educating people who either do not know that they may have these traits, or who do not have them; they will be able to expand and build their own senses using mindfulness practices. The book advances the idea that PQ (Perception Quotient (intelligence)) is every bit as important as IQ (Intelligence Quotient) and EQ (Emotional Quotient) and children should be taught to employ all of their senses from a young age.
The book is well written and I found it very interesting and eye opening. This subject matter was completely new to me and the ideas and suggestions in it are certainly good food for thought. I tended to be more drawn to the scientific studies in the area, and not quite as in tune with the spiritual element, but I like to keep an open mind and still found it informative and of interest.
The book is well written and I found it very interesting and eye opening. This subject matter was completely new to me and the ideas and suggestions in it are certainly good food for thought. I tended to be more drawn to the scientific studies in the area, and not quite as in tune with the spiritual element, but I like to keep an open mind and still found it informative and of interest.
August 21, 2023
At a time when there is much discussion of transhumanism and augmenting the human body, it is great to a see a writer who advocates for the brilliance and awe-inspiring abilities of humans in the flesh. From the nurse who can smell disease to the woman who envisioned her cancer in a dream, to the wonders of synesthesia, the author makes a strong case for a return to focusing upon the senses and challenging our self-enforced limitations. She weaves together nicely a blend of empirical research and personal accounts. The flow of the book encouraged me to look forward to next revelation while maintaining a readability and accessibility that I suspect was a goal for this writer. A rare writer who can explain difficult concepts and make them come alive. The book itself is an experience for the senses. I did wish to hear more about remote sensing and the more "paranormal" outer boundaries of human experience. Perhaps in the next book?
August 3, 2023
We've been taught that our senses pale in comparison to those of other animals. As this book shows, that belief is nonsense. Humans can detect a trillion scents and perceive the light of a single photon. This fascinating, entertaining, and easy-to-read book relates the latest in the science of human sensory perception. Our ability to experience and enjoy the world is deeper than we imagine, if only we pay more attention.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.
August 15, 2023
Maureen Seaberg has a unique, clear skill in writing science facts into an engaging inner dialog I found in myself.
This book had me from the title. It is an eye opening, mind blowing revelation of being human. Our senses are expanding when one realizes the capabilities of tactile, audible, visual, aroma, working together with instincts.
I highly recommend reading this. It will become part of your conversation ice breakers, because you won't be able to stop yourself in bringing up "Fearfully and Wonderfully Made "!
This book had me from the title. It is an eye opening, mind blowing revelation of being human. Our senses are expanding when one realizes the capabilities of tactile, audible, visual, aroma, working together with instincts.
I highly recommend reading this. It will become part of your conversation ice breakers, because you won't be able to stop yourself in bringing up "Fearfully and Wonderfully Made "!
November 3, 2023
The evidence and case studies presented in this book are extraordinary- much like the sensorium of the individuals described. Recently learning about synesthesia from my teen daughter (who has been labeled everything from ADD to dyslexic to gifted & talented to autistic), I didn't know what I might find here. I felt safe and at home in this book! Like I finally found my tribe. Seaberg presents the science beautifully. I want to thank her for explaining to the world there is no such thing as 'too sensitive'.
May 2, 2023
Maureen Seaberg goes through each of our senses and writes about the sensory outliers or people with enhanced abilities. This brings up the question of have our senses not completely developed or are the abilities within our genes. Did relying on technology lessen our ability to learn thus lower our perception quotient. There are many unknowns and this book will make you think about human potentials.
August 23, 2023
A phenomenal work that explores the greatest technology on the planet - the human body. Expanding on her former groundbreaking books, Seaberg challenges the reader to awaken their own potentialities and develop skills to enjoy and experience life to its fullest. Thought-provoking and inspiring, the author reminds the reader of the limitless abilities and gifts they already possess. A must-read for anyone seeking to realize their full potential.
October 4, 2023
Understanding the human body just got exciting!
Maureen Seaberg knows how to write an engaging and understandable science book...
Amazing! ;)
The author is just amazing! First time I've been able to actually UNDERSTAND the content of her writing!
If you want to get a grasp of your inner/outer body...in all of it's magnificent senses....this is the book for you!
Highly Recommended!
November 8, 2023
The author, Maureen Seaberg has opened a window into my soul. Everything she talked about in the book, I can relate to. I have synesthesia. I am a self-diagnosed tetrachromat. I just reached out to the author, and she immediately responded. I thanked her for sharing her experience, research, and wisdom with the world. Synesthesia is a real thing, now backed up by science! Thank you, Maureen Seaberg. This book is a MUST READ!
November 8, 2023
Fascinating info about the senses. I could smell a weird smell around me during covid and when I listened to her interview on NPR, I was shocked that the covid smell described by the nurse who smells illnesses was really close to what I smelled.
Interesting concepts at the end about human abilities. I watched a documentary in Santa Fe once about Remote viewing. Not surprised at all that humans can achieve these amazing feets.
Interesting concepts at the end about human abilities. I watched a documentary in Santa Fe once about Remote viewing. Not surprised at all that humans can achieve these amazing feets.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 8, 2023
This is a book that will work for some and probably not-so-much for others. While I found it quite interesting to read various stories documenting individuals with keen senses, I had to question some of the thoughts. Not as a scientist, but as a book-reading Christian.
I loved reading about Joy Milne, a woman who could detect early Parkinson’s disease by the smell of individuals or their clothing, which led to the development of an early diagnostic test. Learning about those who could taste more acutely, or visualize colors with letters, etc. always has a way of fascinating me.
But, in the case of this book, these stories were not for entertainment purposes, but more to point out what humans are capable of. And with practice and training, we all have the potential for these abilities.
As the book progressed, my unscientific doubts began to wave a few red flags of disbelief. The book was losing some credibility.
While parts of the book were definitely interesting, as a whole it just didn’t work for me. Though it is very thought-provoking.
I loved reading about Joy Milne, a woman who could detect early Parkinson’s disease by the smell of individuals or their clothing, which led to the development of an early diagnostic test. Learning about those who could taste more acutely, or visualize colors with letters, etc. always has a way of fascinating me.
But, in the case of this book, these stories were not for entertainment purposes, but more to point out what humans are capable of. And with practice and training, we all have the potential for these abilities.
As the book progressed, my unscientific doubts began to wave a few red flags of disbelief. The book was losing some credibility.
While parts of the book were definitely interesting, as a whole it just didn’t work for me. Though it is very thought-provoking.
July 31, 2023
The conjectures are loosely connected and random. I have trouble with quotes that simply say that
the source is the BBC. Way back in high school in the Vietnam era we were told not to list as sources anyone less than the individual who provided the information. An interesting conjecture, but as far as proving the information, or lending it any credence, I'm skeptical.
the source is the BBC. Way back in high school in the Vietnam era we were told not to list as sources anyone less than the individual who provided the information. An interesting conjecture, but as far as proving the information, or lending it any credence, I'm skeptical.
September 15, 2023
A very fascinating, interesting, scientific book about our senses. It really makes you think about the deeper meaning of our senses and how we are in the world. Definitely a different take on our senses.
Thank you for the ARC. #FearfullyAndWonderfullyMade #NetGalley # St.MartinsPress
Thank you for the ARC. #FearfullyAndWonderfullyMade #NetGalley # St.MartinsPress
July 6, 2024
Started on interesting enough but ending left the ick. Author tries too hard trying to convince the reader her extra sensory skills are extraordinary. What the author cites in their book feels like random grabs for affirmation vs directed research
August 30, 2023
I thought this would be a good try. I just couldn’t stay engaged.
October 2, 2023
Very interesting, at times a bit over my head but well worth the read!
November 7, 2023
The science and discoveries are super cool. Then it gets super Buddhist.
November 18, 2023
Intergration turns sensation into perception. Fuel your imagination by doing novel things, breaks your brain from its standard pattern.
February 22, 2024
I found the author's writing and voice to be quite irritating. There were just enough quality moments to enable me to finish the book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews