• Question: why do we feel pain?

    Asked by Cinderella to Steven on 15 Jun 2015.
    • Photo: Steven Thomson

      Steven Thomson answered on 15 Jun 2015:

      To paraphrase the author Douglas Adams, pain is usually the body’s way of saying “You know that thing you just did? Don’t do that again.”

      It’s how we learn not to do things that damage us. Without pain, you could seriously burn your hand and not feel it, for example. With pain, as soon as you put your hand on something hot, it hurts and you’ll move your hand.

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