Necessity of Smell Revealed

Upon indulging my thoughts with the contents of, Smell, in "A Natural History of the Senses", I have been stuck with the image of thousands of colorful uniquely shaped molecules floating off of every surface around me and invading my nostrils. With such a variety of surfaces in almost every space, it is astonishing that one can possibly distinguish one smell from the next. However, I find it a rather disturbing that almost all manufactured products have been instilled with chemicals with the intention of slipping unconscious wants and desires into our daily lives. For example, as Diane Ackerman described, filling the air with the smell of pizza through the air conditioning of malls to make people want to eat food. Its the exact same idea as subliminal messaging, although it should be called "subliminal smelling" and its almost impossible for us to escape from. It appears our sense of smell, having once been so vital, allowing us to recognize edible food and other dangers, has been turned against us by corporations and advertisers, as usual, eager to get their hands on our money.

On a different note, when Diane Ackerman discussed how humans generally love to fill there homes with the scent of pine forests, fruits and other smells from nature, it seems quite clear that humans have not completely forgotten their connection with nature and somehow feel lost without it.  It makes me wonder if people who live in more urban areas and have fewer daily encounters with nature, tend to desire these scents throughout their home more than those have many daily encounters with nature.

Diane Ackerman describes a couple aspects of our ability to smell which I find quite contradictory to one another. First, that our experience of smell can be societally based and second, that our experience can intrinsic for detecting danger. It makes me wonder how the brain determines which smells relate to our survival and which smells are completely arbitrary; waiting around for the person next to us to dictate what they mean. For instance, Diane Ackerman discusses how most people in “civilized” countries find the smell of excrement repugnant. It seems that this could be due to the social reaction towards excrement or the innate sense that it could be dangerous to consume.  When she further explains that certain cultures use excrement to adorn their hair for the intense smell and enhanced appearance, it certainly appears that our repulsed reaction towards excrement is societally based. If that particular smell is not societally based, it makes me wonder if not all excrement is dangerous to consume, but that it has much more to do with the foods we consume.

Lastly, Diane Ackerman's explanation of the mating behavior of mice, choosing mates with the most differing set of genes to create stronger offspring through their sense of smell, certainly makes believeable the idea that humans have the same behavior to some extent.  Combining this idea with the fact that humans constantly cover their natural smell with perfume, makes me wonder if this is reason for the downfall of many short lived relationships. Perhaps, the initial desire arises from the intensely applied, pheromone filled perfume, and then fades away as two people become closer and experience each others' natural scent. If this is true, than a very large portion of people in the world are living, completely unaware that the freedom and delight a whiff of coffee and a bouquet of flowers brings to us, is balanced with an uncontrollable power that some may argue usurps our freedom to make our own decisions. However, after reading all of, Smell, I do not feel in accordance with this gloomy perception and instead I feel that its power is innately beautiful and looks out for our best interest, but like anything, can be easily manipulated by others.