Final answer:
Stereognosis is the ability to detect and identify objects by touch and manipulation, without the aid of vision, such as recognizing a coin in your hand based on its tactile characteristics.
Step-by-step explanation:
Your ability to detect an object in your handbag without looking at it is called stereognosis. This is a form of sensory perception that involves the ability to recognize and identify common objects just by manipulating them, without the use of vision. It is a type of gnosis, which is the task of naming objects strictly on the basis of the somatosensory information received from handling them, such as identifying a coin in your hand by its size, thickness, or texture. Stereognosis is essential for understanding our surroundings and interacting with them effectively, as it allows us to recognize objects without the need for visual cues. It relies on a combination of tactile perception, proprioception, and memory of the tactile characteristics of objects.