What is "sensation"

Sensation \Sen*sa"tion\, n. [Cf. F. sensation. See Sensate.]

1. (Physiol.) An impression, or the consciousness of an impression, made upon the central nervous organ, through the medium of a sensory or afferent nerve or one of the organs of sense; a feeling, or state of consciousness, whether agreeable or disagreeable, produced either by an external object (stimulus), or by some change in the internal state of the body.

   Perception is only a special kind of knowledge, and sensation a special kind of feeling. . . . Knowledge and feeling, perception and sensation, though always coexistent, are always in the inverse ratio of each other.
   --Sir W. Hamilton.

2. A purely spiritual or psychical affection; agreeable or disagreeable feelings occasioned by objects that are not corporeal or material.

3. A state of excited interest or feeling, or that which causes it.

   The sensation caused by the appearance of that work is still remembered by many.
   --Brougham.

   Syn: Perception.

   Usage: Sensation, Perseption. The distinction between these words, when used in mental philosophy, may be thus stated; if I simply smell a rose, I have a sensation; if I refer that smell to the external object which occasioned it, I have a perception. Thus, the former is mere feeling, without the idea of an object; the latter is the mind's apprehension of some external object as occasioning that feeling. ``Sensation properly expresses that change in the state of the mind which is produced by an impression upon an organ of sense (of which change we can conceive the mind to be conscious, without any knowledge of external objects). Perception, on the other hand, expresses the knowledge or the intimations we obtain by means of our sensations concerning the qualities of matter, and consequently involves, in every instance, the notion of externality, or outness, which it is necessary to exclude in order to seize the precise import of the word sensation.''
   --Fleming.

1610s, "a reaction to external stimulation of the sense organs," from French sensation (14c.) and directly from Medieval Latin sensationem (nominative sensatio), from Late Latin sensatus "endowed with sense, sensible," from Latin sensus "feeling" (see sense (n.)). Meaning "state of shock, surprise, in a community" first recorded 1779.\n\nThe great object of life is sensation -- to feel that we exist, even though in pain. It is this 'craving void' which drives us to gaming -- to battle, to travel -- to intemperate, but keenly felt, pursuits of any description, whose principal attraction is the agitation inseparable from their accomplishment.

[Lord Byron, letter, Sept. 6, 1813]

n. 1 A physical feeling or perception from something that comes into contact with the body; something sensed. 2 A widespread reaction of interest or excitement.

1. n. an unelaborated elementary awareness of stimulation; "a sensation of touch" [syn: sense experience, sense impression, sense datum]

2. someone who is dazzlingly skilled in any field [syn: ace, adept, champion, maven, mavin, virtuoso, genius, hotshot, star, superstar, whiz, whizz, wizard, wiz]

3. a general feeling of excitement and heightened interest; "anticipation produced in me a sensation somewhere between hope and fear"

4. a state of widespread public excitement and interest; "the news caused a sensation"

5. the faculty through which the external world is apprehended; "in the dark he had to depend on touch and on his senses of smell and hearing" [syn: sense, sentience, sentiency, sensory faculty]

Sensation is the fiction-writing mode for portraying a character's perception of the senses. According to Ron Rozelle, "...the success of your story or novel will depend on many things, but the most crucial is your ability to bring your reader into it. And that reader will be most completely in when you deliver the actual sensations of the many things that comprise your story" . As stated by Jessica Page Morrell, "You breathe life into fiction by translating the senses onto the page, producing stories rooted in the physical world ... that creates a tapestry, a galaxy of interwoven sensory ingredients."

Also according to Rozelle, "The sensation of what something feels like is used to describe everything from sensual pleasure to pain and torture. It's a wide range, and your readers have actually experienced only some of those feelings. So your job is to either make them recall exactly what it feels like when something occurs in your story or, if they haven't experienced it, what it would feel like if they did" . Morrell describes a "sensory surround", which when "coupled with drama tugs the reader into [the] story and forces him to keep reading."

The importance of conveying sensation in fiction is widely accepted. However, recognition of sensation as a distinct fiction-writing mode is a matter of discussion.

Sensation refers to the processing of senses by the sensory system; see also sensation (psychology).

Sensation or sensations may also refer to:

Sensation, an album by Anúna, was released in 2006 on the Danú label. All music featured on the disc is original, written by the Irish composer Michael McGlynn.

Sensation is a 1936 British crime film directed by Brian Desmond Hurst and starring John Lodge, Diana Churchill, Francis Lister and Felix Aylmer. A crime reporter solves a murder case using a piece of evidence he found amongst the victim's possessions.

The 'Sensation' mango is a late-season mango cultivar that originated in south Florida and was grown on a commercial scale.

In psychology, sensation and perception are stages of processing of the senses in human and animal systems, such as vision, auditory, vestibular, and pain senses. Included in this topic is the study of illusions such as motion aftereffect, color constancy, auditory illusions, and depth perception.

Sensation is the function of the low-level biochemical and neurological events that begin with the impinging of a stimulus upon the receptor cells of a sensory organ. It is the detection of the elementary properties of a stimulus.

Perception is the mental process or state that is reflected in statements like "I see a uniformly blue wall", representing awareness or understanding of the real-world cause of the sensory input. The goal of sensation is detection, the goal of perception is to create useful information of the surroundings.

In other words, sensations are the first stages in the functioning of senses to represent stimuli from the environment, and perception is a higher brain function about interpreting events and objects in the world. Stimuli from the environment are transformed into neural signals, which are then interpreted by the brain, through a process called transduction. Transduction is the physical process of converting stimuli into biological signals that may further influence the internal state of the organism, including the possible production of conscious awareness or perception.

Gestalt theorists believe that with the two together a person experiences a personal reality that is other than the sum of the parts.

Sensation was an exhibition of the collection of contemporary art owned by Charles Saatchi, including many works by Young British Artists, (YBAs), which first took place 18 September – 28 December 1997 at the Royal Academy of Art in London and later toured to Berlin and New York. A proposed showing at the National Gallery of Australia was cancelled when the gallery's director decided the exhibition was "too close to the market."

The show generated controversy in London and New York due to the inclusion of images of Myra Hindley and the Virgin Mary. It was criticised by New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani and others for attempting to boost the value of the work by showing it in institutions and public museums.

Sensation is an indoor electronic dance music event which originated in the Netherlands and organized by ID&T. The original event, which ran exclusively in the Amsterdam ArenA for a period of five years until 2005, is now located throughout Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Great Britain, Italy, Netherlands, Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, United States, Brazil, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Korea, Romania, South Africa, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, India, and United Arab Emirates. In 2008, it was announced that for the first time Sensation would be held on New Year's Eve in Melbourne, Australia, as well as in Düsseldorf, Germany and Barcelona, Spain, but has not been in these countries since.

ID&T announced in 2011 that Sensation would tour the United States of America in 2012 for the first time. The first Sensation USA event took place back-to-back nights on 26 and 27 October at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York City. The event was webcast on Xbox Live. ID&T also announced on 3 April 2012 that Sensation would also be making its debut in Asia, making stops in South Korea, Thailand, and Taiwan. In a press conference held in Seoul, Korea, it was revealed that the first Sensation Asia will be held in Seoul, Korea, on 21 July. After Sensation Korea the ‘Ocean of White’ show heads over to Bangkok, Thailand for a show on 18 August and to Kaohsiung, Taiwan on 29 September. All of which are a Co-Production between ID&T and Heineken Beer Company. On 5 February 2013 a Canadian debut was announced, presented by Bud Light Canada. It has been announced that Sensation will take place in Meydan Dubai, U.A.E on October 31, 2014, Monterrey, Mexico on November 8, 2014 and in Toronto, Canada on November 29, 2014. Sensation is taking place in Hyderabad, India on March 5th ,2016

SENSATION is the band title and the music project proposed by the Malaysian Chinese singer and songwriter Gary Chaw with his teacher and the Taiwanese music producer Michael Tu in 2011. As the vocal of the band, he collaborates and performs with the members from MUSA's - with the band-leading pianist Martin "Musa" Musaubach and bassist Lautaro "LuKa" Bellucca from Argentina; and drummer/ percussionist Adriano "Gaofei" Moreira from Brazil.

Guitarist Fabio Moreira, from Brazil, joined in Project 2 started in May 2013. Danny Deysher from the USA teamed up as the quintet member in Aug 2013 as trumpeter. Guitarist Liu Li-Min "Niu-Niu" from Beijing was officially introduced as new SENSATION member in Gary Chaw Sensationally Live Tour Macau 2013.