Here’s an interesting story from the NY Times about how we perceive “self” and personal space around us.
The When the Brain Says, ‘Don’t Get Too Close’
Scientist have been able to map our personal space to
specific cells in our brain. What is truly amazing is the
ability for that personal space to grow and shrink in size.
Just by carrying a stick or driving a car our personal
space can grow. Even cultural differences can result in
different sized spaces. This work has implications for
people with strokes who neglect part of their body,
anorexics who may have an altered sense of self and even
in our sense of reality. It even explains why it’s so easy
to get sucked into virtual reality games.