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What the Nose Knows: The Science of Scent in Everyday Life
• How many smells are there? And how many molecules would it take to create every smell in nature, from roses to stinky feet?
• Who was the bigger scent freak: the perfume-obsessed Richard Wagner or Emily Dickinson, with her creepy passion for flowers?
• By scenting the air in stores, are retailers turning us into subliminally controlled shopping zombies?
• Were Smell-O-Visio...more
• Who was the bigger scent freak: the perfume-obsessed Richard Wagner or Emily Dickinson, with her creepy passion for flowers?
• By scenting the air in stores, are retailers turning us into subliminally controlled shopping zombies?
• Were Smell-O-Visio...more
Hardcover, 288 pages
Published
June 24th 2008
by Crown
(first published 2008)
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"In this entertaining and enlightening journey through the world of aroma, olfaction expert Avery Gilbert illuminates the latest scientific discoveries and offers keen observations on modern culture: how a museum is preserving the smells of John Steinbeck’s Cannery Row; why John Waters revived the “smellie” in Polyester; and what innovations are coming from artists like the Dutch “aroma jockey” known as Odo7. From brain-imaging laboratories to the high-stakes world of scent marketing, What ...more
Ellen
marked it as to-read
Ok, so far the author has reputed old and simply incorrect information found in both of the other "sense of smell" books I read, what 5 or 6 times. He makes engaging, intelligent, and articulate argument that wins me to his side every time. IF YOU ONLY READ ONE BOOK ON THE SENSE OF SMELL -- THIS MUST BE IT!! (And you should totally read this, even if you weren't interested before -- this book is a winner!)
Unfortunately, this is due back to the library, & the rest of the bo...more
Unfortunately, this is due back to the library, & the rest of the bo...more
The title made me expect this would be about how the brain interprets incoming signals from the nose. In fact, there is just too little known about that to fill a whole book for the non-specialist. Instead, this book is padded with tangents such as the history of Smell-O-Vision vs. AromaRama, a debunking of subliminal advertising, and a dethroning of Proust as having had some special insight on the link between smell and memory.
There are many interesting tidbits. Most of them reve...more
There are many interesting tidbits. Most of them reve...more
view all 5 comments
Much information is given humorously about poop, rotting corpses, scented ads, sex differences, and scent in literature in this nonfiction book in the Young Adult section. The author discusses Smell-O-Vision, as well as scents in stores and hotel lobbies to "brand," or as an advertising tool. (If you've ever walked into the Cloudveil store, you'll notice the their pine scented branding!)
Very entertaining insider's account of the olfactory industry. One would never guess how much industry makes use of the subtle influence of smell in promoting their wares. On the other hand, we totally undervalue, and consequently under develop our sense of smell. Packed with interesting trivia.
Snail in Danger (Sid) Nicolaides
marked it as decided-not-to-read
Recommends it for:
perfume and other olfactory geeks
Recommended to Snail in Danger (Sid) by:
some guy at a Mediaeval Baebes outdoor concert
Shelves:
science
It almost seems like a collection of scent-related trivia. Examples: (some) butterflies have a smell, it's possible to use scent to induce fear, there are "olfactory wheels" for everything from wine to sewage effluvia.
Reading this book was like listening to a smart acquaintance enthusiastically talk about their job---it was really interesting, but my neophyte brain got saturated before the expert brain was done expounding.
I loved it, but then again, I'm into smells a lot. If you are curious about odors, this is an excellent book and entertaining to read. The guy has a good blog as well.
John
marked it as abandoned
I started reading this but the magazine-style writing turned me off so I decided to return it to the library.
Reacquainted me with and validated the experience of smelling, complete with a pleasantly sarcastic sense of humor, anecdotes and critical research. This book made chemistry seem alive and exciting. (It got a little slow in places, but was still well worth the read.)
Pleasant enough of a pop-nonfiction book about smelling things. Not too technical of about the mechanics how smell gets perceived by the brain- too much controversy I suppose. (See Luca Turin's book- The Secret of Scent) Nor was it entertaining in the a la Mary Roach style either. There are some better books out there to read about the subject of scent. But if you want an easy read, with the basics covered, with a side of the history of Smell-o-Rama, Smellovision, and a small detour into how cap...more
This is a popular science exploration of scent. Unfortunately the author does a better job of the popular part and not enough with the science. Each chapter is vaguely connected around a theme but is filled with cheap jokes and digressions to make the central point hard to follow. While there are nuggets of information scattered throughout the book, I found it a chore to read. By the end I wasn't at all interested in any of his philosophical points of view around the future of scent technologies...more
This book was pretty good, and I liked it better than the last similar one that I read (This is Your Brain on Music). Unfortunately, like with Levitin's book, this one had trouble holding my interest in the last quarter or so.
There were a lot of fun tidbits about smell and how it relates to taste, memory, etc. How do you quantify smell? I recommend it as a book to pick up from the library.
There were a lot of fun tidbits about smell and how it relates to taste, memory, etc. How do you quantify smell? I recommend it as a book to pick up from the library.
Very cool. Provides chemical expression of armpit smell.
Read this because I don't have a sense of smell. I do reflexology and occassionally get my sense of smell back.
He talked about perfumes and food etc He did cover nosmia the lack of sense of smell.
He talked about perfumes and food etc He did cover nosmia the lack of sense of smell.
I really enjoyed this book. It describes an often overlooked sense in a humorous and well-researched manner. It also gives insight into the interesting olfactory industry.
The things you didn't know about the nose! Since I can't smell I figured it would be hilarious to know all about it. I am learning incredible nose facts.
fascinating journey both literary and scientific exloring our fifth sense.
Fun pop-sci tour through the science and art of aromas.
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I'm a sensory psychologist. My specialty is olfaction --the strange and wonderful world of smell. I've worked in academia and the corporate world, published my research in scientific journals, and written a book that explores the interface of smell and pop culture."
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