We Should Count Balance As One of the Senses

ne Tuesday in January, a leather briefcase strung across my shoulder, I tramped through the damp campus of a large California university, looking for the classroom where I would lecture. The drizzle-mist common to the central coast in the winter months had left me wet and cold, so I stepped into the dining hall for some respite. As I took my third step, one of my boot-clad feet slipped on the wet tile floor and shot out from under me. The displacement of my leg was so sudden, so violent, it seemed certain I would end up on my back in front of several hundred undergraduates—and perhaps later even on a stretcher in an ambulance. But in less than a second, and with no conscious effort, I righted myself and continued on my way, not humiliated, not harmed, and totally amazed.