You live on the third floor and your neighbor gets off. You hear music from his flat. No one else hears it.

You hear music emanating from your neighbor’s house. No one else hears it. The volume must be extremely high, but when you raise your own, it sounds like a tornado siren. Why? The energy released by the sound of the music has travelled through a number of different frequencies. At each frequency, the receptors are activated in your ear and send a signal to your brain. Each ear, for its own unique reasons, tends to have different frequencies. And when you try to hear at the same frequency as the music, your brain interprets it as noise.

– From That’s Why We Have Ears

When we listen to music, we are temporarily using only one of our five senses. And although most of us probably aren’t as great at using our sense of smell, it still makes a huge contribution to our ability to enjoy music. Our sense of taste can’t compare to the flavor of the food we are eating, but our sense of touch is actually the most sensitive. So when we eat ice cream, our tongue is experiencing a sensation similar to that of the drumroll of a great piece of music.

You don’t have to eat ice cream to experience this effect. Just watch a movie with a twist. You may not be able to distinguish the different scenes, but you may feel as though you’re enjoying each one more than the last.

– From That’s Why We Have Ears

Art

Because our senses are limited, we need to rely on our imagination to appreciate the richness of a work of art. I often think about what my ancestors saw when they first discovered the New World. They must have had a much different experience than I have, but I don’t doubt that the cave paintings they made gave them a sense of awe and amazement that would have been difficult for me to imagine.

There are two things I am trying to do in this blog: 1) inspire my readers to explore their own creativity, and 2) open their eyes to the vast amount of creativity that exists.

It takes many years of practice to become an expert at something. But it only takes a few minutes to experience something new.

– From Thomas Edison

Don’t take this blog lightly. I want this to be an entertaining read. I want you to laugh at my jokes and think, That was pretty good. But I also want you to think about your life and how much you can enjoy without using your five senses. I want you to think about the beauty of the world around us, but more importantly, I want you to think about the beauty within yourself.

So let’s explore!