We use the basic senses of hearing, vision, taste, touch, and smell to do so. Each sense has an absolute threshold that shows what the smallest amount of whatever the stimulus may be is that we can notice. We also possess the ability for our senses to adapt to the world around us. Sensory adaptation allows our senses to adapt because the more we are around a certain stimuli, the more familiar we become with that stimuli, making our senses less sensitive to that particular stimuli. Sensation differs from the idea of perception because perception is how the brain interprets the world around us. It is how we find the meaning in the world. A major part of perception is attention.
Attention is what allows us to consciously interpret the world. Selective attention is how our brain picks through various stimuli, choosing what we should focus our efforts on. The example in the book of the ambiguous figure comes to mind when I think of perception because it can either be an old hag-looking woman, or a young looking woman. The way the image is perceived depends on who is looking at it.
When focusing on sensation, one major time in my life when I realized how important senses are to us was the first time I had glasses. I did not get glasses until I was a junior in high school, but once I did, my whole world felt different because I could actually see. For the first time I could see the leaves on the trees, and things were not blurry when I was far away from them. It was totally unlike anything I had ever experienced before. I know now that I am nearsighted, meaning I cannot see far distances. Glasses allow me to see, giving me more clarity to be able to process the world that I see.
