On to the Senses

Today’s class started as usual with a question and answer session with the monks.  One monk asked what nerve cells were made of; another monk asked why one side of the brain controls the other side of the body.  The first question was not too difficult to answer, but I said that the answer to the second question is not clear.  I fielded a few more questions but had to stop the monks because I did have other material to present.

We turned our attention to the senses.  I explained that the senses tell us about the outside world and that we have special cells (receptors) that are sensitive to specific types of energy.  We also talked about how different animals have different sensory abilities.  For example, cats can see in low sight, sharks can detect electrical fields and pit vipers can detect infrared radiation.

Vision is the first sense we covered.  I described the different parts of the eye and the pathway of light through the eye to the retina.  To model how the lens bends light, I gave the monks paper, pencils and a magnifying glass.  I told them to go outside, and draw what they see as light passes through the magnifying glass lens.  The monks held white paper on a wall and then focused light on the paper, and outlined what they saw projected.

When everyone was finished, we went back inside to discuss what we saw.  The monks observed that the light was turned upside-down and left and right were reversed.  I explained that this is what happens to light as it passes through the lens of our eyes.

We had to stop after this demonstration and discussion because it was time (again) for tea.