About the book: 2019 / We are used to believing our eyes and ears, but we do not always realize that we receive a huge amount of information not through them, but through the skin. Touch is the most ancient of the senses. Both vision and hearing arose much later in evolution. It has been established that the human embryo, already in the mother’s womb, is capable of touching the world around it. Professor of neurology and famous popularizer of science David Linden explains in a fascinating and accessible way – literally “on the fingers” – how the complex mechanisms of touch work, and at the same time sorts out its many mysteries. Why does pepper seem hot to us and mint cold? Why are we afraid of tickling if someone else tickles us, but do not react to it if we try to tickle ourselves? What actually happens where it itches? How is an orgasm fundamentally different from other muscle spasms, such as sneezing? In David Linden's book, the reader will find answers to these and many other questions.