How to Feel: The Science and Meaning of Touch

People are becoming increasingly disconnected from their bodies and the physical world due to digital isolation. Sushma Subramanian's book "How to Feel" explores the scientific, physical, emotional, and cultural aspects of touch, reconnecting us to what is arguably our most important sense. It highlights the growing field of haptics and offers a new appreciation for a vital but misunderstood sense.

Format: Hardback
Length: 272 pages
Publication date: 02 February 2021
Publisher: Columbia University Press

We are disconnected from the physical world, with many people fearing that we are trapped inside our screens, becoming less in tune with our bodies and losing our connection to the natural environment. However, the sense of touch has been undervalued for a long time, as it is often seen as dirty or sentimental, in contrast to more sophisticated modes of perceiving the world.

How to Feel delves into the scientific, physical, emotional, and cultural aspects of touch, reconnecting us to what is arguably our most important sense. Author Sushma Subramanian introduces readers to the scientists whose groundbreaking research is underscoring the role of touch in our lives. Through vivid individual stories, Subramanian explains the science of the somatosensory system and our philosophical beliefs about it. She visits labs that are shaping the textures of objects we use every day, from cereal to synthetic fabrics.

The book highlights the growing field of haptics, which is trying to incorporate tactile interactions into devices such as phones that touch us back and prosthetic limbs that can feel. How to Feel offers a new appreciation for a vital but misunderstood sense and how we can use it to live more fully.

Weight: 442g
Dimension: 148 x 222 x 27 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780231199322