One can certainly feel constant acceleration "in their bones" and more importantly, the inner ear [1]. I don't think that jerk or higher-order derivatives of po

One can certainly feel constant acceleration "in their bones" and more importantly, the inner ear [1]. I don't think that jerk or higher-order derivatives of position contribute significantly to these sensations. As you wrote, in cases where the overall deviation from the day-to-day experience of the Earth holding on to you via gravity is small, you probably don't feel anything even when there are significant "swings" in acceleration, just not in terms of magnitude. > Braking in a car doesn't feel much different to driving down a hill This is why simulators can be bolted down and still give a close approximation of a moving vehicle by tilting the pilot instead. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vestibular_system http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vestibular_system