# If you had to lose one of your senses, which one would it be?



## snail (Oct 13, 2008)

Taste. I think my sense of smell would compensate for it.


The worst to lose would be touch.


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## Aenima__ (Jun 22, 2011)

I picked hearing, Even though it said 2.22% on the polls *shrugs*.. Who wants to hear all the shit that goes in day-to-day life anyway? Yeah, it would suck not to listen to music anymore.But, I really enjoy my eye sight,taste,smell and touch... Much more than my hearing.


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## Vanderlyle (Jan 19, 2012)

I'd rather loose my taste. Considering that it's already majorly dependent on smell anyway, it wouldn't be much of a loss in comparison to any of the others. 
Not to mention I wouldn't be as much of a picky eater!


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## BlueG (Jun 2, 2011)

It was between taste and smell for me. Smell is a huge contributing factor to taste so if I choose to lose smell, I'd also lose a good portion of taste. So I choose taste.




KateMarie999 said:


> Smell. Taste would be affected but then my cravings would be reduced. Plus I wouldn't have nearly as much problem with going into really smelly places like public bathrooms. I also wouldn't be as bothered when I have a cold. It's the sense I use least often.


No, you'd still be bothered. Your nose and sinuses humidify air.


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## geekofalltrades (Feb 8, 2012)

Definitely taste. Most of what people think of as taste is actually smell: think of how many different "tastes" there are. Now, consider the fact that our taste buds only pick up five "flavors": salt, sweet, bitter, sour, and umame (brothiness/meatiness). The rest of those tastes you probably thought of? All smell all the way.


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## ctang15 (May 13, 2011)

I would actually prefer to lose my hearing. I'm actually pretty surprised that the least amount of people chose that! But I do agree on never wanting to lose my sight or touch, these two senses are way important.

But why would I choose smell and taste over hearing?

-I have a very keen sense of smell, and I use it a lot to determine whether something is clean or edible. If I lost it, I'll become paranoid about whether something will make me sick. So my smell is actually very important to me.

-I agree that taste isn't very useful, but to me, neither is hearing. I'd really appreciate it if someone can explain why they think hearing is important. Neither did me much of a favor, and I'd rather lose both of them than lose even one of my other senses. But in the end, I choose taste over hearing because I can imagine music in in my head, but not taste.


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## amit (Jan 26, 2012)

I would choose either smell or taste. I voted for smell though, as taste is more important to enjoy food.


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## Larzcode (May 16, 2012)

Smell. Maybe I can last a bus ride without feeling nauseous from the fumes. Along with all other smells as perfume and my own shit.


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## FillInTheBlank (Dec 24, 2011)

I would never want to lose my sense of vision since I'm a very visual thinker. If anything, I would choose to lose my sense of taste. I can then eat all the healthy food I think tastes like crap! :tongue:

I thought for a second that maybe I'd prefer losing my sense of smell rather than taste, but smell is directly linked with memory. There are far more things we remember through our sense of smell than we are aware of.


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## Larxene (Nov 24, 2011)

Taste so that all food taste the same to me and I can eat only what is required to maintain my body.


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## Stufreddy (May 6, 2012)

Taste, the nose can give you a lot of useful information about your environment.


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## Jewl (Feb 28, 2012)

Smell and taste really go together. Without smell, you can't taste anything but bitter and sweet. Smell is something dreadful to lose. It's very easy to take for granted. 

For me, I'd rather lose sight. Hearing and touch are so important to me. If I couldn't hear or touch something, I'd have a hard time believing it were there even if I could see it... I wouldn't feel grounded at all. I'd miss sound. I'm a musical person. Touch - I need it. Often when I'm looking at clothing, how it feels is the most important thing. My hands remember how things feel. I remember the feeling of keys on the piano, and my fingers remember where to go based on feeling. The feeling of having syrup on your hands after eating a waffle or pancake. ^_^ And books...

I don't need to like the cover of a book, how it looks. I smell it, touch it, and love the sounds the pages make as I turn them. I hear the words in my head. Sight just confirms all these things for me. It adds to it. It's beautiful. But I would miss sound, touch, or smell a lot more than sight.


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## Otawan (May 21, 2012)

I'd give up sight. 

There's systems in western society to help the blind function in society for starters. I'm also not a very visual person, I live more in my head than the world around me, so I don't think I would miss seeing it as I would miss the other senses. Giving up touch would be terrifying; without that strong physical sensation I would become emotionally and mentally un-grounded in my life and perceived reality. Smell is closely related to memory, so I would never give that up. If I lost hearing, I'd isolate myself from people, and probably would not learn sign-language or learn to read lips; I don't think I would have the motivation to. I like food, and wouldn't give up taste. Sight is the obvious choice to me.


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## goesupinward (Jun 11, 2010)

It would be touch for. I cannot live without hearing or seeing. I like to eat so I want to keep my sense of taste and smelling in tact.


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## hylogenesis (Apr 26, 2012)

I picked "smell" because that sense, for me, is basically wrecked at this point anyway. Interpret that statement how you will.


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## RayStormX (Oct 19, 2011)

if i lost my sense of taste, i could eat all the really healthy but yucky foods!
but I wouldn't be able to taste the faint bitter taste of almonds.


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## The Unseen (Oct 26, 2010)

I chose taste. I think it would be least detrimental to my survival.


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## violetscarletblue (Apr 24, 2012)

Taste! It would help in weight loss... -_-
But then sense of smell and taste are linked.


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## Shazbot (Dec 9, 2011)

Smell because it's already my poorest sense.


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## Hruberen (Jan 2, 2012)

Not taste because eating is enough of a chore as is, without the benefit of tasting good

I went with touch as that is the sensation that produces the least good feelings for me.


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## OldManRivers (Mar 22, 2012)

Hearing. I could very easily leaarn lip reading, ASL - I have lost about 75 % of my hearing now. Without expensiive and uncomfortable hearing aids I cannot understand conversations. And totally deaf I would save a few thousand in replacing the hearing aids - for something that cost one to to hundred dollars to manufacture, there is about 90 % profit margin.


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## Jewl (Feb 28, 2012)

OldManRivers said:


> Hearing. I could very easily leaarn lip reading, ASL - I have lost about 75 % of my hearing now. Without expensiive and uncomfortable hearing aids I cannot understand conversations. And totally deaf I would save a few thousand in replacing the hearing aids - for something that cost one to to hundred dollars to manufacture, there is about 90 % profit margin.


Wow, it's amazing reading about all these different perspectives. 

Sight is the most protected sense according to this poll. Which is funny, because while losing sight wouldn't be pleasant, I rank all the other senses as "more" important. 

Hearing is so dreadfully important to me. I can't imagine what it would be like being 75% deaf and perhaps knowing that one day you could grow completely deaf. Music would be completely lost.  You could remember the sound, but the feeling would not be the same. Of course, this is coming from a musician who happens to be a kinesthetic learner. XD 

The two most important senses to me are touch and hearing.


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## Durden (Jul 9, 2012)

I chose taste because, if I lost the ability to smell, my ability to taste would also be jeopardized. Also, without a sense of taste, it would be easier to have a wholesome, healthy diet.


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## MyName (Oct 23, 2009)

Taste because I could eat healthy crap all the time and I wouldn't care. Smell is more important than people realize.


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## OldManRivers (Mar 22, 2012)

Julia Bell;2699247
Hearing is so dreadfully important to me. I can't imagine what it would be like being 75% deaf and perhaps knowing that one day you could grow completely deaf. Music would be completely lost. :( You could remember the sound said:


> As a musician you will not understand this at all. To me, music is noise - Now, meaning lyrics i enjoy - but had rather read than hear them.
> I can't tap my toe in time to music - and of course efforts to dance were ludicrous. I surely don't have rhythm!
> I had polio as an infant that slowed the development of the right side of my body between 8 months and a year - by my teens the dissymetry was not noticable. Maybe my music neurons never developed - and I have heard other musicians say they had rather go blind that deaf.


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## Holgrave (Oct 11, 2011)

MyName said:


> Taste because I could eat healthy crap all the time and I wouldn't care. Smell is more important than people realize.


Smell? Pray tell, what does smell do besides augment taste and tell you if food is rotten? And if you lost your sense of smell you could still be able to taste poisons, which, IMHO, is extremely helpful if someone's trying to poison you.


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## Wheel of Timelords (Nov 19, 2011)

My order would be Hearing, Sight, Smell, Touch, and Taste, with taste being the one I could most live without. I couldn't bear living without sound, I love music too much. Plus I have sound-to-color synesthesia, where colors pop up in my mind from sounds, depending on the pitch, so it would be like losing another sense as well. Sight is about the same because it's probably my most useful sense -- you can see who you're talking to, watch where you're going (very necessary for sports!), you can read books and sign posts, and I can imagine it would be difficult using a computer if you couldn't see. Next is smell. I associate memories with smells, and people smell different to me, like each person has their own distinct scent. And since I have problems with repressing memories, scent is one of the few things that can trigger them. Touch wouldn't be as bad, but it could be dangerous, if not just strange, to not be able to tell when something is cold or hot. Or feel pain. You could hurt yourself and not realize it. I just can't really imagine what it would be like living without touch. Then taste. While I really enjoy cooking and I love being able to taste things, I feel like I could live without it. I tend to not mind bland foods as much as most people anyways, so I feel like it would be the easiest sense for me to give up.


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## HonestThief (May 28, 2012)

Smell. I don't want to lose any of them, but if I lost one it would be that.


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## Totalbrit (Jun 25, 2012)

I picked taste... for one if you lose smell you lose taste as well so, I wasnt going to lose that one xD And without taste I would certainly be a less picky eater!


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## Kainita (Aug 31, 2011)

Smell... because I am terribly sensitive to strong odors and they make me sick to my stomach. 

Hearing would be my next choice.


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## Coyote (Jan 24, 2012)

apple pie said:


> Anyway, I'm surprised so many people picked taste over smell. You'll still have to take in food to keep your engine running. Styrofoam trice a day? No thanks.


I've had this discussion in real life, and I had concluded that I'd choose to lose taste. However, I read your comment and realized that you're totally right. So I voted for smell.

The one that I would never give up is vision. My memory is almost entirely visual, so I'd be a moron. And if I'm this clumsy _with_ vision, I can't imagine how bad I'd be without it. I'd probably manage to kill myself within the first week.


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## bromide (Nov 28, 2011)

I'd choose taste without hesitation. I would be the most healthful eater in the world if radishes and mushrooms tasted the same as lasagna.


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## ibage (May 5, 2012)

I barely have a sense of smell the way it is. Or at least I never use it. In fact, I almost killed myself with bleach because I used too much and nearly suffocated myself because I didn't smell it while cleaning. 

That said, I didn't feel it fair to choose that option. Instead, I chose taste. I love food and cooking is a hobby of mine. However, I'd rather have the others intact.


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## SenhorFrio (Apr 29, 2010)

easy choice: taste. Then i could just eat nothing but liver and broccoli and be healthy!


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## telepariah (Jun 20, 2011)

Hearing. Allow me to explain. I am a musician... at least I try to be a musician. But I also have had severe tinnitus for decades and I would actually welcome a release from the constant ringing. My ears ring so loud I have trouble understanding people in conversations. If I wake up in the middle of the night, I often can't get back to sleep because of the ringing in my ears. I could still appreciate some music because music is just vibrations and I can feel pitch as well as hear it. Finally, being deaf would mean I could avoid conversations with certain people, and that would suit me fine as well.

If I didn't have tinnitus, I would have chosen smell. The last sense I would want to lose would be sight because if I couldn't see I would not be able to ski at the level I do and that is just too important to give up if I have any choice in the matter.


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## INFantP (Jul 11, 2012)

I could never give up taste, good food is the third best thing that gives out the most pleasure and endorphins after drugs and sex 
And people remember smell better than anything else
it can remind us of good memories and people we've forgotten better than a nicknack 
So I'd give up touch


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## aGirlBizarre (Jul 12, 2012)

Smell; I wouldn't need to smell my cat's disgusting used litter in my toilet anymore


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## chickydoda (Feb 12, 2010)

Probably taste or touch. With taste, there would be no reason to be overweight, and with touch, no more pain.


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## stone100674 (Jun 22, 2012)

I chose hearing. There is a lot of crap people say that I tune out anyway.


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## mitparmar (Jul 22, 2012)

Taste...


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