Smell
Natural History of Senses- SMELL
In the section of the book about smell there were a few paragraphs
describing smell as the fallen angel. We know that our sense of smell is able to spur
memories, rouse our other senses, and help define our self-image. Although it is
highly subjective, it is clear to many of us that our sense of smell is much less of a
priority then things like vision, or sound. We love to smell our favorite foods when
they are being cooked prior to dinnertime. We love to open our windows on a
summer day and smell the fresh air outside. Of course, there are many things that
we adore, as well as dislike, smelling. Our individual preferences to certain smells
can have direct effects on the experiences we will have when we are presented with
those scents. In the same way, when we smell scents that we dislike this can
negatively affect our subjective experience compared to someone who may have
different odor preferences. Although we are aware of our sense of smell, many don’t
realize how strong other animals’ sense of smell is compared to ours. When I visited
my friend’s house over Easter break, his dog ran up to him most likely aware of his
scent. However, unaware of mine, he barked at me incessantly. Even when my
friend opened up the bag of dog food when we were across the house from the dog,
within seconds we would see him sprinting towards us for the bag. While
researching the sense of smell in dogs as well as other animals, I came across an
article that really elaborates on this ability found in dogs.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/nature/dogs-sense-of-smell.html
In the section of the book about smell there were a few paragraphs
describing smell as the fallen angel. We know that our sense of smell is able to spur
memories, rouse our other senses, and help define our self-image. Although it is
highly subjective, it is clear to many of us that our sense of smell is much less of a
priority then things like vision, or sound. We love to smell our favorite foods when
they are being cooked prior to dinnertime. We love to open our windows on a
summer day and smell the fresh air outside. Of course, there are many things that
we adore, as well as dislike, smelling. Our individual preferences to certain smells
can have direct effects on the experiences we will have when we are presented with
those scents. In the same way, when we smell scents that we dislike this can
negatively affect our subjective experience compared to someone who may have
different odor preferences. Although we are aware of our sense of smell, many don’t
realize how strong other animals’ sense of smell is compared to ours. When I visited
my friend’s house over Easter break, his dog ran up to him most likely aware of his
scent. However, unaware of mine, he barked at me incessantly. Even when my
friend opened up the bag of dog food when we were across the house from the dog,
within seconds we would see him sprinting towards us for the bag. While
researching the sense of smell in dogs as well as other animals, I came across an
article that really elaborates on this ability found in dogs.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/nature/dogs-sense-of-smell.html
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