In 1995, the British Medical Journal published a report about a builder who accidentally jumped onto a nail, which pierced straight through his steel-toed boot. He was in such agonizing pain that any movement was unbearable. But when the doctors took off his boot, they discovered that the nail had never touched his foot at all.
Why did the builder feel pain when he wasn’t actually injured? This TED-Ed lesson by Joshua W. Pate delves into why and how we can experience pain, as well as something called nociception and how it can be influenced by biological, psychological, environmental, and social factors.
Watch more TED-Ed videos about the human body, including The Mystery of Motion Sickness, How To Stop Yourself Being Ticklish, and Schoolhouse Rock’s Telegraph Line (Nervous System).
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