The most primitive sense

BLOG #1

A Natural History Of the Senses

Smell 

         "Hit a tripwire of smell, and memories explode all at once" This is one of the most intriguing quotes in the entire chapter, perhaps because of how true it is. It is interesting to think about how for the most part smell is the only sense that has the power to invade your consciousness with memory. There are certain songs that I hear that instantly take me back to the first time I heard them. However, other than that, my mind can't really conjure up other instances where my other senses can make me nostalgic quite like smell can.  However, out of all the senses if you were to ask someone what they would be willing to give up, most would answer smell. Why has smell become so unimportant to the majority of us?

       The chapter talks about how smell is "the mute sense" meaning that people are able to recognize smells but it is basically an impossibility to describe a smell to someone who has never smelled it before. As humans we tend to fear or shy away from what we do not understand, and in this case, cannot explain. Perhaps we perceive smell as unimportant because we cannot easily articulate why it is so important to us, so like most things in this generation that challenge us we choose to dismiss them entirely rather than attempt to further investigate them. The chapter says that without a name or way of description smell becomes sacred. Do you agree with this? It is also human nature to put what we do not understand on a pedestal. However, as people we have changed immensely over the years. The descriptions of smell throughout the chapter are more often from historical periods and from historical writers, rather than writers of our time. The people in history appreciated smell more than we do now, or perhaps they just had a better understanding as to why it is such an intriguing, important and sensual sense. 

         My Uncle told me about a study that was blaming birth control for the high divorce rate. Apparently, taking birth control changes the natural scent of a woman. Once most people get married they stop taking their birth control for they are trying to conceive. Most people think that it is having children, boredom, etc that cause men to stop finding their wives attractive, or as attractive...But this study shows that it is rather the change in her smell as a result of her not taking her birth control anymore that makes the husband loose his attraction to his wife. Of course, the husband does not know that this is the cause so he just perceives it as falling out of love with his wife or just for whatever reason not being attracted to her anymore. This is astounding how much smell plays a role in our attraction to one another. Although it makes sense considering how important smell is to animals and their attraction and we are just that, animals. Which poses the important question: How much are we messing with natural attraction by showering ourselves in perfumes, lotions, creams etc. that only shield our natural scents? Could this be playing an important role in our societies struggle with monogamy and clear confusion with choosing the correct mate?