David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian received the Nobel prize in medicine this year for discovering some of the key mechanics of how we sense touch and heat and cold. It is pretty miraculous how finely honed our sense of touch is. Just consider how you can distinguish between the texture of a wool blanket and a cotton t-shirt and a synthetic sports shirt and a silk necktie and a microfiber cleaning cloth.
Without a sense of touch, it would be pretty much impossible to sculpt with clay.
It would be dangerous to work near a hot stove in the kitchen.
It would be a whole lot less fun to pet a purring kitten or ruffle the feathers on a bird’s head.
