how many textures does the average person encounter in an average day? How many smells? How many unexpected sounds?
It seems to me modern life, where everything is smooth, predictable, electronic and sanitized, cannot but deaden our senses and the intelligence–the intuitive, instinctive, natural intelligence–which regular and open connections to those sensations enable.
There is something to be said for walking barefoot, feeling the textures of trees, smelling nature, listening to wind in the grass and the flow of water.