On Noses and Irises

For when the vibe is bright, indulgent, and twee.

Isn’t it interesting that the parts of us most dedicated to experiencing and digesting the world are the parts most unique to us? Everyone knows that fingerprints are unique to individuals, but did you know that tongue shape and texture, and ear shape are similarly unique? Even identical twins have individual sensory features. These differences stem from particular and nuanced developmental conditions in the womb. My favorite of these human features has to be irises. Irises are by far the most unique indicator of personhood, with 250 characteristics that can determine an identity compared to the fingerprint, which has just 40. Compounding the profound individuality of the iris’s physical characteristics, sight is also the most well-developed and well-used human sense. The eyes are also the sense organ most closely connected to the brain, where we live.

These things taken together make the experiment pioneered by Arthur Aron where pairs of strangers were asked to stare into each other’s eyes for an extended and unbroken period of time make beautiful sense. People who engage in this experiment report feeling an intimate connection, even an attraction to the stranger they are paired with. In some cases, people who participated even went on to marry each other. It’s no wonder that they say eyes are the windows to the soul.

It’s also no wonder that they say no two people see the world the same way. Ok, I made that one up, but it doesn’t make it any less true!

What’s more, no two pups have the same snoot print and, wouldn’t you know it, smell is the defining sense for pups. The sense that creatures are most dependent on also have the most complex and defining physical expression. Perhaps this is just me looking for a simple pattern in a complex world, but I think that’s just neat!