> Still, I can't quite let go of the notion that it's actually *likely* that I'm not perfectly equipped to perceive the entire universe armed with only sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell and the ability to think.

I'll say I'm 99 percent sure you're not perceiving the entire universe with your senses. I'm confident that electrons exist, but good luck using your senses to find them. Modern science has shown us how poor humans are at perceiving much of physical reality, even in comparison with some other animals. Scores of insects can see the ultraviolet spectrum, but it's completely unnoticed by any of humanity's five senses.

> Which is why I'm taking the time at all to ponder the distinction between things that are truly untestable and things which are only untestable for lack of the proper equipment, as it were.

Yes, it's possible (and *very* likely) there exists physical phenomena that remain unknown to humans, and that are unperceivable with our senses. Given what we know about the universe and the way evolution works, though, it seems unlikely that these phenomena are going to be capable of affecting us greatly unless we begin manipulating them. If they played important roles in our lives, we probably would have evolved the capacity to sense them. The high-energy portion of the spectrum is a good example: humans generally don't come into contact with alpha, beta or gamma radiation, so it's all invisible to us, even though it can be deadly. Since we've discovered its existence, though, we have been able to kill other humans with it, but it remains non-perceivable to us (unaided by machinery).

What I'm trying to say is that if other phenemona exist, it is probable that they may be of a similar type: ocurring around humans naturally infrequently, but possibly able to be manipulated by humans with machinery. Though that machinery thing is a big tangent.

Anyway, I find it very unlikely that humans are equipped with the latent ability to perceive such phenomena. Of course, I believe humans evolved in response to their environments, and that is why we would not be capable of perceiving any newly-discovered phenomena. If you believe that humans were engineered by a creator with a plan, then it's possible we had this ability built-in. I can't tell you how to begin exercising this ability, though, much like I can't tell you how to use your eyes to see better (though since the eyes are controlled by muscles, you can do exercises to help aspects of your vision)...

Stephen