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