Mystery of the Senses Mystery of the Senses Mystery of the Senses is a five-part "Nova" miniseries, based on the book "A Natural History of the Senses" by Diane Ackerman, who also presents the documentary. Each episode covers one of the traditional five senses: hearing, sight, smell, taste, and touch. The series premiered on PBS on February 19, 1995. Alan Rich of "Variety" said that "Ackerman has fashioned an absorbing tapestry of media essays on human sensuality". Walter Goodman of "The New York Times" stated that "much of the information ... is fresh", but "the programs meander down dull paths; the scientific material tends
Five wits Five wits In the time of William Shakespeare, there were commonly reckoned to be five wits and five senses. The five wits were sometimes taken to be synonymous with the five senses, but were otherwise also known and regarded as the five inward wits, distinguishing them from the five senses, which were the five "outward" wits. Much of this conflation has resulted from changes in meaning. In Early Modern English, "wit" and "sense" overlapped in meaning. Both could mean a faculty of perception (although this sense dropped from the word "wit" during the 17th century). Thus "five wits" and "five