Touch
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- See also somatosensory system and Touch (disambiguation).
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Touching is having zero distance between two or more objects.
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[edit] In humans
Touch is a very important sense for humans, providing information about surfaces and textures. Touch is also vitally important in conveying physical intimacy and can convey messages in nonverbal communication. It can be both sexual and platonic.
Conversely, striking, pushing, pulling, pinching, kicking, strangling and hand-to-hand fighting are forms of touch in the context of physical abuse. In a sentence like "I never touched him/her" or "Don't you dare to touch him/her" the term touch may be meant as euphemism for either physical abuse or sexual touching. To 'touch yourself' is a euphemism for masturbation.
Human babies have been observed to have enormous difficulty surviving if they do not possess a sense of touch, even if they retain sight and hearing. Babies who can perceive through touch, even without sight and hearing, fare much better. Touch can be considered a basic sense in that nearly all life forms have a response to being touched, while only a subset have sight and hearing.
The study of touch in humans is known as haptics.
What is acceptable for touch varies by cultural group; in example, in the Thai culture, touching someone's head may be considered rude.
[edit] Physical space
In geometry it refers especially to a tangent line or curve (cf. collision). This term can be used to describe contact interaction between any physical objects. In medicine, the colloquial term "touch" is usually replaced with somatic senses, to better reflect the variety of mechanisms involved.
Holding or moving something is usually done by touching (exceptions include blowing or using a magnet or engine), but this is sometimes done indirectly (e.g., with pliers, tongs or tweezers).
[edit] In language
Touch is used as a metaphor to convey a variety of meanings. One can be emotionally touched. In this sense it refers to some action or object that evokes a sad or joyful emotion. For example, to say "I was touched by your letter" would imply the reader felt joy or sadness when reading it.
[edit] Quote
I needed so much/ To have nothing to touch/ I've always been greedy that way.. -Leonard Cohen, from The Night Comes On (1984)
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Ashley Montagu: Touching: The Human Significance of the Skin, Harper Paperbacks, 1986
- Phyllis Davis: The Power of Touch - The Basis for Survival, Health, Intimacy, and Emotional Well-Being
- Flanagan, J.R., Lederman, S.J. Neurobiology: Feeling bumps and holes, News and Views, Nature, 412(6845):389-91 (2001).
- Hayward V, Astley OR, Cruz-Hernandez M, Grant D, Robles-De-La-Torre G. Haptic interfaces and devices. Sensor Review 24(1), pp. 16-29 (2004).
- Robles-De-La-Torre G. & Hayward V. Force Can Overcome Object Geometry In the perception of Shape Through Active Touch. Nature 412 (6845):445-8 (2001).
- Robles-De-La-Torre G. The Importance of the Sense of Touch in Virtual and Real Environments. IEEE Multimedia 13(3), Special issue on Haptic User Interfaces for Multimedia Systems, pp. 24-30 (2006).
[edit] External links
- Touch and sexuality
- Skin hunger
- Touch, technology, digital arts and philosophy
- The International Society for Haptics
- The Cutting Edge of Haptics An article in MIT's Technology review by Duncan Graham-Rowe.
