Apprehension

Often times, when we’re talking about something or looking at it we’ll say, “Let me see that.” Of course, kids will subsequently taunt each other by saying, “See! You can see it!” and holding the item just out of reach. Because what we really mean when we say, “Let me see that” is, “I’d like to hold that and examine it more closely.”

We are extremely reliant on our vision to inform us about the world, but seeing something doesn’t always communicate everything we want to know about it. We can infer what something might feel like by looking at it closely. But the texture, weight and balance play off of each other to give things a certain feel. We can see how big something is, but that’s different from knowing how it fits in our hand (or not). The percieved quality of a luxury item can literally be weighed in our hands.

The word “apprehend” has two meanings in English: one is to arrest someone for a crime, but the other is to understand or perceive. The root of “apprehend” is the Latin prehendere: to lay hold of. I don’t think that’s a coincidence.