Smells and Bells

I wasn't sure about how I wanted to finish the blog posts for this course, so I decided to spend some time with my senses and just share some observations. It is a sunny evening and so I figured it would be perfect to sit outside and reflect on what I have learned over the course of this semester. Smell : The smell of nature is difficult to describe, but there is definitely a smell. I don't know if I can put the smells of nature into words, but I feel like there is a slight smell in the air after a snow or rain storm or in the morning when there is still dew on the grass. Ackerman states that "nothing is more memorable than a smell" and I couldn't agree more (Ackerman, 5). When I thought about the smell of nature it made me immediately think about mornings walking to the bus stop as a kid after it had snowed and there was always a fresh smell in the air. Taste : I don't know if there is a specific taste that I notice right now as I sit on the porch, but ...

I have never seen the movie "The Sixth Sense", but by watching the trailer it seems like a movie about the paranormal world and I find this really interesting. Even during some of our class discussions it seems like a lot of people's perception of the sixth sense has a paranormal connection. I have never considered this definition of the sixth sense, but I also have never spent much time thinking about what the sixth sense is. I feel like people's definition of the sixth sense is based upon their perception of previous experiences. Perhaps if I had a very powerful experience relating to sensing a ghost, then I would be more likely to form my definition of the sixth sense based upon that experience. Instead of the paranormal, the first thing that comes to mind when trying to place a finger on the sixth sense is that "gut feeling" experience. This gut feeling, intuition, instincts or whatever you choose to call it, is really important to some people, includ...

Touch is an interesting sense to think about. Out of all of the senses I feel that the sense of touch is one that I am both very aware of, but also not aware of at all. When thinking about the sense of touch I first think of my pets. I have a pet rabbit with such incredibly soft fur. While he is not a very fluffy animal, his fur still feels so silky and soft. Along with this I think of my puppy. There's something special about petting a young puppy, there is a distinct softness of a puppy's coat. Along with pets, the sensation of a loved one's touch like a hug is something so comforting. In times where My puppy, Charlie social distancing is the new social norm, I think we can all connect in some way to this recognition of how important touch actually is to us in our lives. ©  Nastya This awareness of the comforting sensation of touch is interesting when contrasted with how numb we can become to touch. Ackerman describes this in A Natural History of the Senses and...

I typically begin writing these posts by first thinking about that particular sense and my favorite thing about it or something that sticks out to me, but I find this tricky with vision. I think it may be because sight is such a pervasive sense. Sight is so intertwined with our other senses. When one sees a beautiful flower they are draw in to take a sniff of its perfume. The presentation of a plate of food at one's favorite restaurant can add to the taste experience. When one sees a fluffy blanket in the isle of a store they will reach out to touch it, but not reach out and touch a simple plastic bottle. When one hears the crunch of leaves next to them they use their sight to see who or what is near them. Diane Ackerman describes sight in  A Natural History of the Senses as "the great monopolist of our senses" because "vision can... collect bushel basket of information as it goes" (Ackerman, 229-230). Dog smelling flowers © Sonny Annesley  The "bush...

The sense of hearing has many levels of importance to us such as hearing a loved one's voice, sensing a potentially dangerous situation, listening to music, or just simply hearing the sound of leaves crunch under foot in autumn. One of the first things I think about with the importance of hearing would be music. In Diane Ackerman's Natural History of the Senses she discusses this relationship that humans Our Christmas ornament from when I played trumpet.  have to sound and music and states that "the odd thing about music is that we understand and respond to it without actually having to learn it" which is one thing I find amazing about music and sounds in general (Ackerman, 205). I have long forgotten the details about scales, notes, and measures that I learned while playing trumpet in eighth grade, but that does not mean I cannot enjoy, appreciate, and feel emotions that the song evokes. Music is so universal regardless of language or genre and it can be enjoyed...

When I see the title of chapter two, "Kitchen, Food, and Family", in Religion in the Kitchen: Cooking, Talking, and the Making of Black Atlantic Traditions by Elizabeth Pérez I immediately think of Thanksgiving. While the traditions of my family Thanksgiving are far from what is described in this book, it is the closest connection I can relate to her described experiences. My kitchen- decorated for Thanksgiving. In A Natural History of The Senses by Diane Ackerman she describes the sense of taste as "the social sense" because "humans rarely choose to dine in solitude, and food has a powerful social component" (Ackerman, 127). I think this social element that can be seen in Religion in the Kitchen is what I am most strongly connecting to my personal experience during Thanksgiving. Pérez states that "practitioners talk while they cook... around kitchen tables...over charcoal grills, wood fires, and gas stoves" and describes this as "comm...

I have never paid much attention to smell. To me it appears that the sense of smell is thought of as lesser sense or completely disregarded. Yet, Green and Ackerman would probably disagree with that statement. In The Aroma of Righteousness Green states that “...odor, whether pleasing or foul, enters almost every aspect of our lives—it’s subtle pervasiveness affects our attitudes and judgments…” and I often ignore this pervasive sense (or at least I thought I did) so I wanted to try and pay attention to my sense of smell for once. Olga Ernst 2018  © On Saturday morning (February 15, 2020) I could smell the freezing air, but does “cold” have a smell? Ackerman states in A Natural History of the Senses that “smells are our dearest kin, but we cannot remember their names;” so when I say that I can smell the cold, do we think of the same thing? When I think of smelling cold air I think of a fresh blanket of snow accented by a chilly morning wind, but perhaps someone else ma...