Sensing Things From a Distance

In class yesterday we discussed briefly how various senses require a different amount of closeness in order to be accessible. We can hear and see things for some distance, as well as smell, though that can be variable, but in order to use the sense of touch we must be directly touching something and taste requires putting an object in your mouth.

I found it interesting how this array of distances might be changed or augmented by existing in the digital realm. It's very easy to share visuals and sounds digitally. Smells, tastes and touches we have yet to figure out how to send through the medium of a computer. What's interesting though is that despite the lack of technology for it, especially these days where so many more interactions are online, it hasn't stopped people for trying to share these senses too. For example, just about every public discord server I'm in has some sort of channel for sharing photos of food. Here's one that my partner sent recently, from the restaurant they work at.

Obviously this doesn't really allow you to taste or smell the food, but it gives you plenty of clues for how it would smell and taste and feel in your mouth. And beyond that, such environments are also used for sharing recipes and advice, not just photos. I might not be able to actually taste my friends cooking from across the internet, but I can use the same flavors and seasonings as them, if I'm curious, which is sharing of that taste and smell in its own way.

Coming back to smell, it's probably the most difficult thing to share a semblance of over the web. As Ackerman discussed, it's hard to describe a smell to another person, so it can be pretty hard to help them imagine it, but I do have a story of sharing smells with someone from a distance.

I have an online friend, one who I've never met in person, who runs a small etsy shop selling various scented soaps and candles. For the Holidays, in the midst of the pandemic, my friend ordered me two of those candles as a present.

So... despite the limitations of the digital world I was able to share these specific smells with my friend from halfway across the country.