An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us

An Immense World explores how different animal species perceive the world through their distinct sensory systems. Ed Yong describes how each animal, including humans, experiences only a limited portion of the full range of stimuli present in the environment—including sights, sounds, smells, electric and magnetic fields, and other sensations. The book takes readers through examples of animal perception across species. It covers beetles attracted to fires, turtles that navigate using Earth's magnetic fields, fish that communicate through electrical signals, and humans who use echolocation. Yong also describes specific sensory abilities: a crocodile's sensitive facial scales, a giant squid's specialized eyes, plants responding to insect vibrations, and scallops' complex vision. The book examines what various animals perceive—what bees see in flowers, what songbirds hear, what dogs smell. Yong combines accounts of scientific discoveries with exploration of remaining unanswered questions about animal sensation, presenting the material with humor and rigor.