What do you think?
Rate this book
嗅覺之謎：生物演化與免疫基因；社會學與文化史；品牌行銷到未來科技，探索氣味、記憶與情緒的嗅覺心理學。
將氣味喚起記憶的「普魯斯特現象」帶入實驗室，
一本大膽假設、小心求證的狂想報告書。
══════════════════════
╭ ╮╭ ╮╭ ╮╭ ╮╭ ╮╭ ╮
生物 免疫 社會 文化 品牌 未來
演化 基因 學 史 行銷 科技
╰ ╯╰ ╯╰ ╯╰ ╯╰ ╯╰ ╯
◌ 健康的免疫系統，好聞的體味
◌ 氣味成了區分窮人與富人的標誌
◌ 植入虚構的記憶，可能有助於控制食慾
◌ 古埃及與羅馬、中世紀歐洲香水簡史
◌ 你偏好的香水跟你的免疫基因有關
◌ 對手機呼吸一口氣能檢測出癌症？
「閱讀本書，你不僅能對自己驚人的嗅覺擁有更多感激及認識，
還能瞭解如何透過各種方式利用嗅覺改善及豐富生活。」
──瑞秋．赫茲博士＠2019TEDxNatick
一本大膽假設、小心求證的狂想報告書。
══════════════════════
╭ ╮╭ ╮╭ ╮╭ ╮╭ ╮╭ ╮
生物 免疫 社會 文化 品牌 未來
演化 基因 學 史 行銷 科技
╰ ╯╰ ╯╰ ╯╰ ╯╰ ╯╰ ╯
◌ 健康的免疫系統，好聞的體味
◌ 氣味成了區分窮人與富人的標誌
◌ 植入虚構的記憶，可能有助於控制食慾
◌ 古埃及與羅馬、中世紀歐洲香水簡史
◌ 你偏好的香水跟你的免疫基因有關
◌ 對手機呼吸一口氣能檢測出癌症？
「閱讀本書，你不僅能對自己驚人的嗅覺擁有更多感激及認識，
還能瞭解如何透過各種方式利用嗅覺改善及豐富生活。」
──瑞秋．赫茲博士＠2019TEDxNatick
288 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2007
75 people are currently reading
1180 people want to read
About the author
Rachel Herz
9 books28 followersRachel Sarah Herz is both a psychologist and cognitive neuroscientist, and recognized expert on the psychology of smell. (Wikipedia)
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews
April 23, 2024
Labai daug įdomių mokslinių tyrimų apie uoslę, kvapą, skonį. Labai patiko.
Aromaterapija žmonėms padeda tik psichologiškai. Nei vienas mokslinis tyrimas nepasiteisino.
Feromonai taip pat veikia tik psichologiškai. Dar mokslininkai neišrado, bet labai stengiasi :)
Kaip uoslė susijusi su emocija?
Vieniems rožės smirda, nes pirma karta vaikystėje jas užuodė per mamos laidotuves.
Kitiems lavonai kvepia, nes Indijoje tai šventė, tai ceremonija.
Net ir potrauminiam stresui padeda su kvapais.
Kariuomenėje taip pat labai naudojamas. Minų paieškoms su bitėmis.
Pasirodo yra net robotinė nosis sukurta, kuri jau veikia oro uostuose, maisto tikrinimuose ir t.t.
Yra tepalas sukurtas, kurį patepus labai pageriną uoslę. Bet geriamų uoslės stimuliantų dar neišrasta.
Čia tik maža dalis, kuria pasidalinau. Knyga tikrai verta dėmesio. Rekomenduoju!
Aromaterapija žmonėms padeda tik psichologiškai. Nei vienas mokslinis tyrimas nepasiteisino.
Feromonai taip pat veikia tik psichologiškai. Dar mokslininkai neišrado, bet labai stengiasi :)
Kaip uoslė susijusi su emocija?
Vieniems rožės smirda, nes pirma karta vaikystėje jas užuodė per mamos laidotuves.
Kitiems lavonai kvepia, nes Indijoje tai šventė, tai ceremonija.
Net ir potrauminiam stresui padeda su kvapais.
Kariuomenėje taip pat labai naudojamas. Minų paieškoms su bitėmis.
Pasirodo yra net robotinė nosis sukurta, kuri jau veikia oro uostuose, maisto tikrinimuose ir t.t.
Yra tepalas sukurtas, kurį patepus labai pageriną uoslę. Bet geriamų uoslės stimuliantų dar neišrasta.
Čia tik maža dalis, kuria pasidalinau. Knyga tikrai verta dėmesio. Rekomenduoju!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 23, 2011
This was a fun read, written by a fellow skunk-smell appreciator. Though I think the author may never have smelled skunk up close.
While not particularly in-depth, the author tied together a number of different thoughts related to the underappreciated (by most) olfactory system. I was dismayed to read that 80% of the elderly can be expected to lose their sense of smell; and she offered no thoughts as to how anyone can forestall that terrible fate, other than abstaining from smoking. I guess I'll just smell the world for all it's worth, for as long as my nose shall last.
I was interested to see research on how vital smell is for women in choosing a partner. Most women won't admit to that, unless it's to compliment a guy's cologne. The apparent link between body odor and immune system genetics was new to me.
I was also intrigued by her discussion of chemical sensitiviy syndrome, which in my very limited experience looks like "odor sensitivity syndrome" instead. Reclassifying the cause from "chemicals" to "odors" doesn't help its sufferers in the short term, but it may open up new avenues for treatment in the long term. I have mixed feelings about campaigns to eliminate public odors. On the one hand, I've certainly gotten my share of headaches from ill-advised colognes, perfumes, dryer sheets, Cinnabon shops, etc. And if the laundry detergent that smells like fruity baby powder goes away forever, nobody will be happier than I. But, at the same time, to someone as olfactorily oriented as I am, elminating all odors from one's environment and body is almost like trying to erase the material world.
Scent is like sound - the less there is in the environment, the more sensitive we become. To move out of the sound of traffic is to discover how loud the fridge is. To unplug the refrigerator is to hear the wind and the woodstove roar. To extinguish the stove is to hear your heart beating. The only things that can extinguish a sense we still posess are habituation, and grievous inattention. "The Scent of Desire" certainly helps us pay more attention to a culturally undervalued, but influential and enthralling sense.
While not particularly in-depth, the author tied together a number of different thoughts related to the underappreciated (by most) olfactory system. I was dismayed to read that 80% of the elderly can be expected to lose their sense of smell; and she offered no thoughts as to how anyone can forestall that terrible fate, other than abstaining from smoking. I guess I'll just smell the world for all it's worth, for as long as my nose shall last.
I was interested to see research on how vital smell is for women in choosing a partner. Most women won't admit to that, unless it's to compliment a guy's cologne. The apparent link between body odor and immune system genetics was new to me.
I was also intrigued by her discussion of chemical sensitiviy syndrome, which in my very limited experience looks like "odor sensitivity syndrome" instead. Reclassifying the cause from "chemicals" to "odors" doesn't help its sufferers in the short term, but it may open up new avenues for treatment in the long term. I have mixed feelings about campaigns to eliminate public odors. On the one hand, I've certainly gotten my share of headaches from ill-advised colognes, perfumes, dryer sheets, Cinnabon shops, etc. And if the laundry detergent that smells like fruity baby powder goes away forever, nobody will be happier than I. But, at the same time, to someone as olfactorily oriented as I am, elminating all odors from one's environment and body is almost like trying to erase the material world.
Scent is like sound - the less there is in the environment, the more sensitive we become. To move out of the sound of traffic is to discover how loud the fridge is. To unplug the refrigerator is to hear the wind and the woodstove roar. To extinguish the stove is to hear your heart beating. The only things that can extinguish a sense we still posess are habituation, and grievous inattention. "The Scent of Desire" certainly helps us pay more attention to a culturally undervalued, but influential and enthralling sense.
July 20, 2020
Herz recounts some interesting studies (I was particularly interested in the accounts around how women can smell a man’s major histocompatibility complex and often choose partners accordingly, except when they are on the Pill, which screws up our ability to smell these genes), but sometimes the book is a lot less science and a lot more personal anecdote. She knows someone with anomia (lost sense of smell) and makes tons of sweeping generalizations about the condition, based on this one woman (maybe it can explain all of her depression and her dissolving marriage!). Herz also lost me by broadly declaring the McClintock Effect to be true—the widespread belief that women who live together start to sync their menstrual cycles—which has been debunked multiple times. Weak science, but some interesting ideas about this oft-overlooked sense.
June 24, 2018
Good primer on the most neglected of the 5 (main) senses. The sense most keyed to our emotions. The chapter on MHC was a bit draggy though. But the chapter on future applications of scent was quite interesting. Even if after more than ten years these ideas haven't become mainstream.
___
One of the most important things my dissertation adviser taught me was that no one person or theory has the complete answer to any question.
The areas of the brain that process smell and emotion are as intertwined and codependent as any two regions in the brain could possibly be. No other sensory organ has this kind of privileged and direct access to the part of brain that controls our emotions.
Scents affect out emotional lives in exceptional ways, triggering moods and emotional memories. They can also become emotions (odor-emotional conditioning) through learned association.
A chemical sense was the first sense to appear in the mobile life-forms that emerged on the earth, and it is the only sense that the most primitive single-celled creatures share with us today.
The most immediate reaction to a scent is an assessment of good or bad. Approach or avoid. Emotions also convey a simple message that is similar.
Humans understand the scent of fear, as well as happiness, in one another.
For humans to be able to smell a chemical, it must be of low molecular weight, volatile, and able to repel water, so that it can stick to our olfactory receptors.
Even though between 60-70% of our olfactory genes don't work, 1% of all the genes in our body is committed to regulating olfaction, which is far more genetic devotion than anything else in our body and brain gets.
Several studies have shown that what a mother consumes during pregnancy will influence her baby's flavour preferences after they are born.
First encounters (i.e. novelty) are especially important in the development of odor preferences because if a smell is already familiar you would already have associations with it. This is also why most of our odor preferences seem to come from childhood.
The central tenet of odor-associative learning is that how you feel when you first encounter a particular scent determines your future hedonic perception of it. Nothing stinks, but thinking makes it so. (specific cultural and personal histories with particular scents)
Trigeminal stimulation refers to the fact that almost all odors have a feel to them as well as a smell (e.g. the cool of menthol, the burning of ammonia). Smelling salts are actually a heavy dose of trigeminal stimulation (ammonia + eucalyptus oil)
Visual context can dominate in odor perception - lack of complaints received when color-flavor errors occur (e.g. purple soda being flavoured with cherry).
Why? Scents are invisible and we are obsessed with identifying the objects in our world, and so with enigmatic smells we look to words and scenes for help.
In all languages that have been studied, there are fewer words that refer exclusively to the experience of fragrance than there are for any other sensation.
Recollections triggered by smell are no worse than those elicited by other senses, but they are distinctive in their emotionality.
For an ambient scent to facilitate memory, it has to be distinctive or unfamiliar, to stand out from the background so that it draws your attention, even without consciously focusing on it.
Aromatherapy works through psychology, as learned association can have real physical and emotional consequences (e.g. relaxation through smelling lavender), influencing mood, thoughts, behaviour and general well-being.
Foul odors are always guilty first, and we are reluctant to having them proven innocent.
The bottom line is that belief in dangerous or bad properties of odors, rather than the reality, is responsible for many health complaints - and can have profound impact on medical policy, economics, and politics.
Body chemistry plays a startlingly large role in who we are sexually attracted to and that our noses speak loudly to our souls even if it seems like only a barely audible whisper.
The birth control Pill hormonally mimics the state of pregnancy, and during pregnancy a woman's vulnerability to threats and danger is heightened. For protection, being around members of your family may make you safer than being around strangers. It is thus speculated that there is a biological predisposition for pregnant women to seek men who, because they are more genetically similar, may also be more protective.
A recent study by Monell Chemical Senses Center foudn that gay men prefer the smell of gay male sweat versus straight men or women. The findings suggest that there must be something different in the underarm secretions of homosexuals versus heterosexuals, and that preferences for one or the other is based on something biologically revealing about sexual orientation.
Body odor stands out not because women are actively avoiding men that smell bad, but rather they were enthusiastically seeking men who smelled gorgeous to them.
Women judge symmetrical men (who are likely to be healthy and endowed with a tough immune system) as having better smelling body odor than less symmetrical men.
In spite of growing evidence that chemicals in human sweat have physiological consequences for others, particularly women, there is not evidence yet of a viable human sex pheremone.
Separation anxiety between young children and mothers could possibly be soothed by using a garment that has been in close skin contact with the mother as a standin while the mother was absent.
One of the distinctions between bottle and breast-fed babies: breast-fed babies have nestled their noses directly against their mother's breast and armpit have intimate contact and knowledge of their mother's signature scent.
Lambert Pharmaceuticals (creators of listerine, originally a general antiseptic) coined the term halitosis in 1921 as a medical definition of bad breath. IT WAS A MARKETING GIMMICK.
Food craving and drug addiction are very much alike. The neural structures that are involved in cravings for drugs and alcohol are in and around the limbic system, our brain's emotion and motivation control center.
Umami is the taste from the amino acid MSG and can be described as the taste of pure protein (think meaty broths). Sour comes from acidic compounds (pH<7). Sale comes from acid-base mixtures, e.g. sodium chloride (sodium is the base). Sweet comes from carbohydrates, but can also come from amino acids (e.g. aspartame). Bitter comes from alkaloids (pH>7).
Salt blocks the taste of bitter and makes something sweet taste even sweeter.
Supertasters have more papillae and hence more taste buds and taste cells than nontasters. Besides experiencing all tastes more intensely, they also experience 3-4x the burn intensity and 2-3x more creaminess and fattiness in foods than nontasters. As a result of greater taste sensitivity, and potential for quicker satiation on sweet and fatty foods, supertasters tend to have a somewhat lower BMI than nontasters.
By reducing how much salt we "taste" we can effectively diminish our desire for salty food.
Sweet substitutes have been relatively straightforward to develop, but salt substitutes have been not, because the biochemical mechanisms by which salt taste is experienced is still unknown. Currently trying to find a nonsodium, safe, salty tasting chemical is like trying to find a needle in a haystack.
Flavour is the combination of basic taste sensations with smell.
Scenting devices (like the air fresheners in toilets) are commercially available and frequently used as customer lures. Almost all of the food aromas you are baited with in public places come from a machine, not a kitchen.
Malnutrition produces a dark side to our thinking and personality, making people irritable, confused, and forgetful- symptoms that look a lot like dementia. The similarity is so strong that elderly people are sometimes misdiagnosed and treated for dementia when all that is wrong is malnutrition due to smell loss.
The most critical use for e-noses, however, is for sensing spoilage in products like meat, milk, and mayonnaise, where consumption of rancid food can lead to serious health consequences.
Bees can be trained to detect specific chemicals (e.g. DNT, variant of TNT), and will swarm areas with high concentrations of that chemical. Useful for detecting buried explosives. Unfortunately hard to deploy in forested areas.
Dogs' amazing sense of smell and apparent ability to sniff out cancer has been dubbed "dognosesis" on internet chat sites and is rapidly gaining scientific attention. (back in 2006).
The main challenge with Smell-O-Vision is that smell is a slow sense, both to detect, and to reset. It is therefore hard to match with visual input.
___
One of the most important things my dissertation adviser taught me was that no one person or theory has the complete answer to any question.
The areas of the brain that process smell and emotion are as intertwined and codependent as any two regions in the brain could possibly be. No other sensory organ has this kind of privileged and direct access to the part of brain that controls our emotions.
Scents affect out emotional lives in exceptional ways, triggering moods and emotional memories. They can also become emotions (odor-emotional conditioning) through learned association.
A chemical sense was the first sense to appear in the mobile life-forms that emerged on the earth, and it is the only sense that the most primitive single-celled creatures share with us today.
The most immediate reaction to a scent is an assessment of good or bad. Approach or avoid. Emotions also convey a simple message that is similar.
Humans understand the scent of fear, as well as happiness, in one another.
For humans to be able to smell a chemical, it must be of low molecular weight, volatile, and able to repel water, so that it can stick to our olfactory receptors.
Even though between 60-70% of our olfactory genes don't work, 1% of all the genes in our body is committed to regulating olfaction, which is far more genetic devotion than anything else in our body and brain gets.
Several studies have shown that what a mother consumes during pregnancy will influence her baby's flavour preferences after they are born.
First encounters (i.e. novelty) are especially important in the development of odor preferences because if a smell is already familiar you would already have associations with it. This is also why most of our odor preferences seem to come from childhood.
The central tenet of odor-associative learning is that how you feel when you first encounter a particular scent determines your future hedonic perception of it. Nothing stinks, but thinking makes it so. (specific cultural and personal histories with particular scents)
Trigeminal stimulation refers to the fact that almost all odors have a feel to them as well as a smell (e.g. the cool of menthol, the burning of ammonia). Smelling salts are actually a heavy dose of trigeminal stimulation (ammonia + eucalyptus oil)
Visual context can dominate in odor perception - lack of complaints received when color-flavor errors occur (e.g. purple soda being flavoured with cherry).
Why? Scents are invisible and we are obsessed with identifying the objects in our world, and so with enigmatic smells we look to words and scenes for help.
In all languages that have been studied, there are fewer words that refer exclusively to the experience of fragrance than there are for any other sensation.
Recollections triggered by smell are no worse than those elicited by other senses, but they are distinctive in their emotionality.
For an ambient scent to facilitate memory, it has to be distinctive or unfamiliar, to stand out from the background so that it draws your attention, even without consciously focusing on it.
Aromatherapy works through psychology, as learned association can have real physical and emotional consequences (e.g. relaxation through smelling lavender), influencing mood, thoughts, behaviour and general well-being.
Foul odors are always guilty first, and we are reluctant to having them proven innocent.
The bottom line is that belief in dangerous or bad properties of odors, rather than the reality, is responsible for many health complaints - and can have profound impact on medical policy, economics, and politics.
Body chemistry plays a startlingly large role in who we are sexually attracted to and that our noses speak loudly to our souls even if it seems like only a barely audible whisper.
The birth control Pill hormonally mimics the state of pregnancy, and during pregnancy a woman's vulnerability to threats and danger is heightened. For protection, being around members of your family may make you safer than being around strangers. It is thus speculated that there is a biological predisposition for pregnant women to seek men who, because they are more genetically similar, may also be more protective.
A recent study by Monell Chemical Senses Center foudn that gay men prefer the smell of gay male sweat versus straight men or women. The findings suggest that there must be something different in the underarm secretions of homosexuals versus heterosexuals, and that preferences for one or the other is based on something biologically revealing about sexual orientation.
Body odor stands out not because women are actively avoiding men that smell bad, but rather they were enthusiastically seeking men who smelled gorgeous to them.
Women judge symmetrical men (who are likely to be healthy and endowed with a tough immune system) as having better smelling body odor than less symmetrical men.
In spite of growing evidence that chemicals in human sweat have physiological consequences for others, particularly women, there is not evidence yet of a viable human sex pheremone.
Separation anxiety between young children and mothers could possibly be soothed by using a garment that has been in close skin contact with the mother as a standin while the mother was absent.
One of the distinctions between bottle and breast-fed babies: breast-fed babies have nestled their noses directly against their mother's breast and armpit have intimate contact and knowledge of their mother's signature scent.
Lambert Pharmaceuticals (creators of listerine, originally a general antiseptic) coined the term halitosis in 1921 as a medical definition of bad breath. IT WAS A MARKETING GIMMICK.
Food craving and drug addiction are very much alike. The neural structures that are involved in cravings for drugs and alcohol are in and around the limbic system, our brain's emotion and motivation control center.
Umami is the taste from the amino acid MSG and can be described as the taste of pure protein (think meaty broths). Sour comes from acidic compounds (pH<7). Sale comes from acid-base mixtures, e.g. sodium chloride (sodium is the base). Sweet comes from carbohydrates, but can also come from amino acids (e.g. aspartame). Bitter comes from alkaloids (pH>7).
Salt blocks the taste of bitter and makes something sweet taste even sweeter.
Supertasters have more papillae and hence more taste buds and taste cells than nontasters. Besides experiencing all tastes more intensely, they also experience 3-4x the burn intensity and 2-3x more creaminess and fattiness in foods than nontasters. As a result of greater taste sensitivity, and potential for quicker satiation on sweet and fatty foods, supertasters tend to have a somewhat lower BMI than nontasters.
By reducing how much salt we "taste" we can effectively diminish our desire for salty food.
Sweet substitutes have been relatively straightforward to develop, but salt substitutes have been not, because the biochemical mechanisms by which salt taste is experienced is still unknown. Currently trying to find a nonsodium, safe, salty tasting chemical is like trying to find a needle in a haystack.
Flavour is the combination of basic taste sensations with smell.
Scenting devices (like the air fresheners in toilets) are commercially available and frequently used as customer lures. Almost all of the food aromas you are baited with in public places come from a machine, not a kitchen.
Malnutrition produces a dark side to our thinking and personality, making people irritable, confused, and forgetful- symptoms that look a lot like dementia. The similarity is so strong that elderly people are sometimes misdiagnosed and treated for dementia when all that is wrong is malnutrition due to smell loss.
The most critical use for e-noses, however, is for sensing spoilage in products like meat, milk, and mayonnaise, where consumption of rancid food can lead to serious health consequences.
Bees can be trained to detect specific chemicals (e.g. DNT, variant of TNT), and will swarm areas with high concentrations of that chemical. Useful for detecting buried explosives. Unfortunately hard to deploy in forested areas.
Dogs' amazing sense of smell and apparent ability to sniff out cancer has been dubbed "dognosesis" on internet chat sites and is rapidly gaining scientific attention. (back in 2006).
The main challenge with Smell-O-Vision is that smell is a slow sense, both to detect, and to reset. It is therefore hard to match with visual input.
November 3, 2021
A terrific book paired with This is Your Mind on Plants by Pollan. The sentence structure and writing in this one confused every once in a while so it detracted from my enjoyment as did the sometimes abrupt end to a meandering musing. Also, a bit more prediction/wondering than suited my taste. Still some good stuff worth the time to read, especially in conjunction with the Pollan, which was a happy accident for me.
March 16, 2022
Profesionaliai parašyta knyga. Kovido simptomatikos (skonio ir kvapo praradimas) kontekste labai naudinga ir įdomi. Ir tai nėra grožinė literatūra, nors ir moksline nepavadintum. Toks apvirškintas mokslas. Bendrai vertinant rekomenduoju.
June 18, 2012
**The nose knows**
Have you ever been immediately transported back in time with one quick whiff of a nostalgic smell? Do certain scents seem to give you a quick pick-me-up, while others make you want to get-the-heck out? Do some people's body orders turn you off while others' comfort you?
Although we may take it for granted, our sense of smell is core to our humanity, and flavors all aspects of our lives. In the words of the author, "Recognizing how essential scent is to our humanity--emotionally, physically, sexually, and socially--and how the experience of scent enriches, improves, and deepens our lives in multiplicative and multifaceted ways gives remarkable meaning to our lives." (p. 241).
Smell--our ultimate sense of desire--has "profound influence over how we act and react, taste and think, behave and love." (p. xvi) It deepens our emotional experiences, evokes powerful memories, activates our passions, influences our relationships and whom we find attractive (and even informs us of the best biological fit in a mate!), allows us to know ourselves better, and deeply affects our mental health, behaviors, and ability to learn and remember.
In _The Scent of Desire_, Rachel provides a comprehensive, and endlessly fascinating, tour de smell. Each of the eight chapters provides insight (or would that be inscent?) as to why our enigmatic sense of smell is so powerful:
***Chapter 1--The Sense of Desire
"Smells are surer than sights or sounds to make your heartstrings crack."--Nabokov
***Chapter 2--As You Like It
"A rose by any other name would not smell as sweet."--(not) Shakespeare
***Chapter 3--Scents of Time
"Wherever I am in the world, all I need is the smell of eucalyptus to recover the list world or Adrogue, which today no doubt exists only in my memory."--Jorge Luis Borges
***Chapter 4--Aroma and Therapy
"The way to health is to have an aromatic bath and scented massage every day."--Hippocrates
***Chapter 5--Scents and Sensuality
"I knew I was going to marry my husband the minute I first smelled him.."--Estelle Campenni, 1995 (psychology professor, Marywood University)
***Chapter 6--The Odor of the Other
"The lower classes smell."--George Orwell
***Chapter 7--Craving
"There is no love sincerer than the love of food."--George Bernard Shaw
***Chapter 8--A Whiff of the Future
"The nose of today knows no tomorrow.."--Rachel Herz
The author's hope for the book is that "everyone who reads this book will cease to take their sense of smell for granted. My wish is that from reading this book you will forever after truly make time to smell the roses, or the bacon, and relish all the wonders and gifts that the sense of smell has to offer...From reading this book you will not only have a much greater appreciation and understanding of your astonishing sense of smell, but will also know how to use it to improve and enrich your life in diverse ways." (pp. xvi-ii)
In my--and my nose's--humble opinion, she accomplishes her goals hands/nose down. I'd go so far as to say that the book is esscential (sic) reading for anyone who wants to be able to wake up and smell--that is, really, truly, deeply, and mindfully smell--the roses.
Have you ever been immediately transported back in time with one quick whiff of a nostalgic smell? Do certain scents seem to give you a quick pick-me-up, while others make you want to get-the-heck out? Do some people's body orders turn you off while others' comfort you?
Although we may take it for granted, our sense of smell is core to our humanity, and flavors all aspects of our lives. In the words of the author, "Recognizing how essential scent is to our humanity--emotionally, physically, sexually, and socially--and how the experience of scent enriches, improves, and deepens our lives in multiplicative and multifaceted ways gives remarkable meaning to our lives." (p. 241).
Smell--our ultimate sense of desire--has "profound influence over how we act and react, taste and think, behave and love." (p. xvi) It deepens our emotional experiences, evokes powerful memories, activates our passions, influences our relationships and whom we find attractive (and even informs us of the best biological fit in a mate!), allows us to know ourselves better, and deeply affects our mental health, behaviors, and ability to learn and remember.
In _The Scent of Desire_, Rachel provides a comprehensive, and endlessly fascinating, tour de smell. Each of the eight chapters provides insight (or would that be inscent?) as to why our enigmatic sense of smell is so powerful:
***Chapter 1--The Sense of Desire
"Smells are surer than sights or sounds to make your heartstrings crack."--Nabokov
***Chapter 2--As You Like It
"A rose by any other name would not smell as sweet."--(not) Shakespeare
***Chapter 3--Scents of Time
"Wherever I am in the world, all I need is the smell of eucalyptus to recover the list world or Adrogue, which today no doubt exists only in my memory."--Jorge Luis Borges
***Chapter 4--Aroma and Therapy
"The way to health is to have an aromatic bath and scented massage every day."--Hippocrates
***Chapter 5--Scents and Sensuality
"I knew I was going to marry my husband the minute I first smelled him.."--Estelle Campenni, 1995 (psychology professor, Marywood University)
***Chapter 6--The Odor of the Other
"The lower classes smell."--George Orwell
***Chapter 7--Craving
"There is no love sincerer than the love of food."--George Bernard Shaw
***Chapter 8--A Whiff of the Future
"The nose of today knows no tomorrow.."--Rachel Herz
The author's hope for the book is that "everyone who reads this book will cease to take their sense of smell for granted. My wish is that from reading this book you will forever after truly make time to smell the roses, or the bacon, and relish all the wonders and gifts that the sense of smell has to offer...From reading this book you will not only have a much greater appreciation and understanding of your astonishing sense of smell, but will also know how to use it to improve and enrich your life in diverse ways." (pp. xvi-ii)
In my--and my nose's--humble opinion, she accomplishes her goals hands/nose down. I'd go so far as to say that the book is esscential (sic) reading for anyone who wants to be able to wake up and smell--that is, really, truly, deeply, and mindfully smell--the roses.
November 24, 2011
The content of the book was adequate, but it was poorly organised and the thoughts were scattered and repetitive. The writer appears to struggle with the decision to write in a conversational or publishable writing style. She chose to repeat a few concepts ad nauseam without rephrasing or elaborating. I found that this left the reader feeling uninformed and wanting more.
I also had trouble with the cover - looks like trashy smut, yes?
Required great power to stick with it, and in the end I left it behind while overseas as it wasn't worth bringing home.
Overall, disappointing.
I also had trouble with the cover - looks like trashy smut, yes?
Required great power to stick with it, and in the end I left it behind while overseas as it wasn't worth bringing home.
Overall, disappointing.
February 28, 2008
This is NOT a werewolf romance novel. However, I do gather that Trent and Mariska will be able to olfactorily diagnose me with terminal illnesses. This gives a rather alarming spin to Mariska's early-morning face pounces. And maybe Trent does not sit nose-to-nose with me, gazing into my eyes for minutes on end, because of undying devotion. Sigh. What I learned from this book: I have face cancer.
December 3, 2022
Esu iš žmonių, kuriems kvapai sukelia pačius jautriausius ir ryškiausius prisiminimus. Jie nukelia netgi į gilią vaikystę ir tokias akimirkas, kurios buvo tarsi visiškai pamirštos. Pakanka dvelktelėjimo būtent TO kvapo ir prisiminimai atgyja. Dėl to ir kvepalus mėgstu rinktis kaskart vis kitus, nes užuodus skirtingą aromatą, atgyja konkretus gyvenimo etapas su jame buvusiais įvykiais ir spalvomis. Žinau, kad tam yra paaiškinimas – smegenų sritys, atsakingos už uoslę ir prisiminimus, yra labai glaudžios. Visgi šiuo faktu mano supratimas ir baigėsi, tad galimybė labiau pasigilinti į uoslės pasaulį liko viliojanti.
Dėl šios priežasties mano rankose atsidūrė Rachel Herz knyga „Geismo kvapas. Paslaptingas uoslės pasaulis“. Knygos pavadinimas skamba taip, lyg būtų romanas, tačiau iš tiesų knyga yra šviečiamojo pobūdžio. Čia susipina faktai, tyrimai ir pačios autorės požiūris į uoslės vaidmenį mūsų gyvenimuose.
Knyga pradedama gan dramatiškai – apie tai, kad uoslės netekimas gali privesti netgi prie savižudybės. Perbėgo mintis, kad knyga išleista sulig Covid-19 pandemijos pradžia, kai uoslės bent laikinai neteko nemažai žmonių. Tikiuosi, kad jie šios knygos neatsivertė arba bent nepajuto nevilties, perskaitę tokią aštrią knygos įžangą.
Toliau knygos dėstymas gerokai švelnesnis, tačiau ne mažiau įtikina, kad uoslė mūsų gyvenime yra beprotiškai svarbi. Pasirodo, kad evoliucijos eigoje uoslė mums buvo svarbesnė nei bėgant laikui, kai ėmė vystytis regos organai ir užimti vis svarbesnį vaidmenį kovojant dėl išlikimo. Visgi ir dabar uoslė atlieka itin svarbų vaidmenį, tik to nesuvokiame. Mokslo pasaulis iki šiol sėkmingai (beveik) ignoruoja uoslę, bent jau palyginus su kitomis juslėmis.
Knygoje išsamiai aptariamas daugeliui jau žinomas faktas, kad gyvenimo partnerį pasąmoningai irgi renkamės pagal kvapą. Akimirksniu įvertinama, ar potencialus partneris būtų tinkama sąjunga susilaukiant sveikų palikuonių. Akcentuojama, kad tiksliausiai įvertinamas natūralus, dezodorantais ir kvepalais neužmaskuotas žmogaus kvapas. Papildomų kvapų naudojimas mūsų pasirinkimus iškraipo. Lygiai taip pat iškraipo ir kontraceptinės tabletės – pasirodo, kad jas vartojanti moteris, kvapus jaučia kitaip ir renkasi partnerį, turintį priešingą kvapą, negu rinktųsi kontraceptinių tablečių nevartodama. Šios temos nagrinėjimas man iškėlė klausimą – įdomu, ar dezodorantai, kvepalai ir kontraceptikų vartojimas susijęs su apsigimimų procento augimu? Jeigu uoslei vis labiau trukdoma išsirinkti tinkamiausią partnerį giminei pratęsti, sąsajų būti turėtų, tiesa?
Niekas nedvokia, tai tiesiog mūsų mąstymo padarinys. Toks knygoje esantis teiginys puikiai iliustruoja išplėtotą temą apie subjektyvų kvapų suvokimą. Pasirodo, kad neegzistuoja kvapas, kuris visiems būtų bjaurus. Netgi išvietės kvapas kai kam nėra atstumiantis, jeigu gyvena vietovėje, kur nėra kanalizacijos. Tuomet kvapas tampa tiesiog įprastas. Be to, tas pats kvapas žmonės gali kelti visiškai skirtingas emocijas, priklausomai nuo pirmųjų asmeninių patirčių, susijusių su tuo kvapu. Štai pačiai autorei yra malonus skunso kvapas, nes pirminis patyrimas siejasi su malonia vaikystės išvyka, kurios metu padvelkė skunsu. Tuo tarpu turint neigiamą asmeninę patirtį arba vien tik visuomenės įdiegtą požiūrį, kad skunsas dvokia, šio gyvūno skleidžiamą kvapą vertiname kaip atstumiantį. Nors tuo šiek tiek sunku patikėti, tačiau knygoje pateikiama galybė pavyzdžių ir atliktų eksperimentų, kurie įtikina, kad kvapo vertinimas yra subjektyvus ir dažnu atveju įdiegtas aplinkos.
Dar norisi paminėti, kad dalis knygos skirta gilinimuisi į skonio jutimą. Viena vertus, stebina, kad tai nepaminėta knygos pavadinime. Kita vertus, kvapas ir uoslė yra labai glaudžiai susiję. Tai suprasti padeda paprasta situacija, kai prasidėjus stipriai slogai, prarandame ryšį ne tik su kvapais, bet ir su valgomo maisto skoniu. Dar paminėtas pavyzdys, kad pakanka pirštais užspausti nosį, ir nematydami, ką kramtome, nebeatskirtume bulvės nuo obuolio. Teigiama, kad be uoslės ir Sprite bei Coca-Cola atrodo kaip tas pats gėrimas. Manau, kad tuo įsitikinti norėsiu ir pati :)
Įdomu tai, kad „valgydami maistą užuodžiame du kartus: pirmą kartą per nosį, kai į burną dedamas maistas priartėja prie nosies (tai vadinama ortonazaline uosle, arba tiesiog uodimu), o antrą kartą – maistui patekus į burną (tai vadinama retronazaline arba vidine uosle, kai iš maisto ir gėrimų išsiskiriantys kvapai burna juda atgal į už gomurio esančią nosies ertmę“ (psl. 218). Taigi uoslė yra visiškai susijusi su galimybe mėgautis maistu. Autorės teigimu, nereikėtų bijoti ir drąsesnio teiginio, kad uoslė yra susijusi su galimybe mėgautis apskritai gyvenimu. Per kvapą jaučiame aplinką, žmones (ypač artimiausius), mėgaujamės intymiu gyvenimu, kvapo dėka jaučiamės labiau pasitikintys ir saugesni – kilus gaisrui užuosime dūmus, o suprakaitavę pajusime, kad pats metas bėgti į dušą.
Apibendrinant, knyga suteikė naujų žinių ir papildė jau turimas. Ateityje mielai paskaityčiau ir daugiau literatūros šia tema – būtų įdomu palyginti skirtingų autorių dėstomas mintis. Numanau, kad jos šiek tiek skirtųsi, nes tikrai esama ir tam tikrų subjektyvumų.
Dėl šios priežasties mano rankose atsidūrė Rachel Herz knyga „Geismo kvapas. Paslaptingas uoslės pasaulis“. Knygos pavadinimas skamba taip, lyg būtų romanas, tačiau iš tiesų knyga yra šviečiamojo pobūdžio. Čia susipina faktai, tyrimai ir pačios autorės požiūris į uoslės vaidmenį mūsų gyvenimuose.
Knyga pradedama gan dramatiškai – apie tai, kad uoslės netekimas gali privesti netgi prie savižudybės. Perbėgo mintis, kad knyga išleista sulig Covid-19 pandemijos pradžia, kai uoslės bent laikinai neteko nemažai žmonių. Tikiuosi, kad jie šios knygos neatsivertė arba bent nepajuto nevilties, perskaitę tokią aštrią knygos įžangą.
Toliau knygos dėstymas gerokai švelnesnis, tačiau ne mažiau įtikina, kad uoslė mūsų gyvenime yra beprotiškai svarbi. Pasirodo, kad evoliucijos eigoje uoslė mums buvo svarbesnė nei bėgant laikui, kai ėmė vystytis regos organai ir užimti vis svarbesnį vaidmenį kovojant dėl išlikimo. Visgi ir dabar uoslė atlieka itin svarbų vaidmenį, tik to nesuvokiame. Mokslo pasaulis iki šiol sėkmingai (beveik) ignoruoja uoslę, bent jau palyginus su kitomis juslėmis.
Knygoje išsamiai aptariamas daugeliui jau žinomas faktas, kad gyvenimo partnerį pasąmoningai irgi renkamės pagal kvapą. Akimirksniu įvertinama, ar potencialus partneris būtų tinkama sąjunga susilaukiant sveikų palikuonių. Akcentuojama, kad tiksliausiai įvertinamas natūralus, dezodorantais ir kvepalais neužmaskuotas žmogaus kvapas. Papildomų kvapų naudojimas mūsų pasirinkimus iškraipo. Lygiai taip pat iškraipo ir kontraceptinės tabletės – pasirodo, kad jas vartojanti moteris, kvapus jaučia kitaip ir renkasi partnerį, turintį priešingą kvapą, negu rinktųsi kontraceptinių tablečių nevartodama. Šios temos nagrinėjimas man iškėlė klausimą – įdomu, ar dezodorantai, kvepalai ir kontraceptikų vartojimas susijęs su apsigimimų procento augimu? Jeigu uoslei vis labiau trukdoma išsirinkti tinkamiausią partnerį giminei pratęsti, sąsajų būti turėtų, tiesa?
Niekas nedvokia, tai tiesiog mūsų mąstymo padarinys. Toks knygoje esantis teiginys puikiai iliustruoja išplėtotą temą apie subjektyvų kvapų suvokimą. Pasirodo, kad neegzistuoja kvapas, kuris visiems būtų bjaurus. Netgi išvietės kvapas kai kam nėra atstumiantis, jeigu gyvena vietovėje, kur nėra kanalizacijos. Tuomet kvapas tampa tiesiog įprastas. Be to, tas pats kvapas žmonės gali kelti visiškai skirtingas emocijas, priklausomai nuo pirmųjų asmeninių patirčių, susijusių su tuo kvapu. Štai pačiai autorei yra malonus skunso kvapas, nes pirminis patyrimas siejasi su malonia vaikystės išvyka, kurios metu padvelkė skunsu. Tuo tarpu turint neigiamą asmeninę patirtį arba vien tik visuomenės įdiegtą požiūrį, kad skunsas dvokia, šio gyvūno skleidžiamą kvapą vertiname kaip atstumiantį. Nors tuo šiek tiek sunku patikėti, tačiau knygoje pateikiama galybė pavyzdžių ir atliktų eksperimentų, kurie įtikina, kad kvapo vertinimas yra subjektyvus ir dažnu atveju įdiegtas aplinkos.
Dar norisi paminėti, kad dalis knygos skirta gilinimuisi į skonio jutimą. Viena vertus, stebina, kad tai nepaminėta knygos pavadinime. Kita vertus, kvapas ir uoslė yra labai glaudžiai susiję. Tai suprasti padeda paprasta situacija, kai prasidėjus stipriai slogai, prarandame ryšį ne tik su kvapais, bet ir su valgomo maisto skoniu. Dar paminėtas pavyzdys, kad pakanka pirštais užspausti nosį, ir nematydami, ką kramtome, nebeatskirtume bulvės nuo obuolio. Teigiama, kad be uoslės ir Sprite bei Coca-Cola atrodo kaip tas pats gėrimas. Manau, kad tuo įsitikinti norėsiu ir pati :)
Įdomu tai, kad „valgydami maistą užuodžiame du kartus: pirmą kartą per nosį, kai į burną dedamas maistas priartėja prie nosies (tai vadinama ortonazaline uosle, arba tiesiog uodimu), o antrą kartą – maistui patekus į burną (tai vadinama retronazaline arba vidine uosle, kai iš maisto ir gėrimų išsiskiriantys kvapai burna juda atgal į už gomurio esančią nosies ertmę“ (psl. 218). Taigi uoslė yra visiškai susijusi su galimybe mėgautis maistu. Autorės teigimu, nereikėtų bijoti ir drąsesnio teiginio, kad uoslė yra susijusi su galimybe mėgautis apskritai gyvenimu. Per kvapą jaučiame aplinką, žmones (ypač artimiausius), mėgaujamės intymiu gyvenimu, kvapo dėka jaučiamės labiau pasitikintys ir saugesni – kilus gaisrui užuosime dūmus, o suprakaitavę pajusime, kad pats metas bėgti į dušą.
Apibendrinant, knyga suteikė naujų žinių ir papildė jau turimas. Ateityje mielai paskaityčiau ir daugiau literatūros šia tema – būtų įdomu palyginti skirtingų autorių dėstomas mintis. Numanau, kad jos šiek tiek skirtųsi, nes tikrai esama ir tam tikrų subjektyvumų.
January 3, 2021
I rarely select a book based on my own curiosity, I tend to go with the flow and check out trending stuff that fits my reading profile (science, SF, business, productivity etc.).
However, before I discovered this book, I told myself: "I love good scents and fragrances, and honestly did not read anything about how does this (IMHO neglected) sense really work in humans".
So I simply tried to find a book about olfaction (smelling) which was interesting enough, but not overly complicated.
I was super happy with Rachel Herz's book, which was my first choice after checking the web.
This is truly a great primer of olfaction because it's not only informative but funny as well.
I bet you that you will learn a lot, just like I did.
Examples:
- I am an identical twin. But I never knew that my individual smell (based on the MHC - major Histocompatibility Complex) is very hard, if not impossible to distinguish even for dogs from my brother's because we share the same DNA.
(Since I read the book, I found out that this is not entirely true anymore, based on a recent study from 2011 where Czech researchers trained German shepherds to distinguish between identical twins: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/art..., but still!!)
- Women are better at smelling than men, but this is only true when they ovulate (and eagerly look for new mates :) )
- Many divorces may happen due to the fact that women take contraceptive pills during the early phase of marriage, and this changes their preference when "finding" the correct MHC based (best matching immune system based) partner. When they come off the pill, their scent preferences change and they end up hating the guy they married, due to his - now unbearable- smell. This was shocking to me (mainly because this sounds very logical!). Note: More than 50% of marriages end up in divorce in the US.
- Dogs can smell out even tumors! (this may be a way for using them more in clinical practice)
- There are no pheromones in humans (the organ which is a separate structure called the vomeronasal organ (VNO), which is responsible for picking up the pheromone molecules does not exist in humans: Actually, human embryos may have a VNO, but after birth this tissue disappears.
-Our olfactory system is the first sense to develop. In fact, we have a fully functioning sense of smell by the time we are twelve weeks in the womb.
- "Proustian memories" are memories which are triggered by a scent. (These are emotionally vivid, sudden, and autobiographical recollections)
- When we perceive a scent the amygdala becomes activated, and the more emotional our reaction to the scent, the more intense the activation is. No other sensory system has a direct access to the part of brain that controls our emotions.
- A great (negative) surprise to white Europeans to learn that their body odor is regarded as inherently offensive, especially since they have so frequently used body odor to justify their own superiority :)
- Since the mid-1950s Chanel No. 5 has been the most famous perfume in the world, and it continues to outsell almost all its modern rivals today
- Between the ages of sixty-five and eighty, about one in four people have lost their sense of smell, and after age eighty, half the population has substantial smell loss
- "E-noses" (electronic scent identification devices) are being used more and more because: E-noses are cheaper and more accurate than human panels, they can reduce the amount of analytical chemistry that would otherwise be performed, they are easy to use, can produce immediate results, and are portable. E-noses are now being put to use in the perfume business to identify counterfeit products; at customs checkpoints to search for banned materials
- The average human nose can discriminate between 10,000-40,000 different odors, and professional smellers—literally called ���noses” in the fragrance industry—and perfumers, whisky blenders, and chefs may be able to discriminate upward of 100,000 odors :)
This was a fun a worthy read, so I suggest anyone interested in our most basic and neglected sense (which is olfaction, or smelling) to check it out!
However, before I discovered this book, I told myself: "I love good scents and fragrances, and honestly did not read anything about how does this (IMHO neglected) sense really work in humans".
So I simply tried to find a book about olfaction (smelling) which was interesting enough, but not overly complicated.
I was super happy with Rachel Herz's book, which was my first choice after checking the web.
This is truly a great primer of olfaction because it's not only informative but funny as well.
I bet you that you will learn a lot, just like I did.
Examples:
- I am an identical twin. But I never knew that my individual smell (based on the MHC - major Histocompatibility Complex) is very hard, if not impossible to distinguish even for dogs from my brother's because we share the same DNA.
(Since I read the book, I found out that this is not entirely true anymore, based on a recent study from 2011 where Czech researchers trained German shepherds to distinguish between identical twins: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/art..., but still!!)
- Women are better at smelling than men, but this is only true when they ovulate (and eagerly look for new mates :) )
- Many divorces may happen due to the fact that women take contraceptive pills during the early phase of marriage, and this changes their preference when "finding" the correct MHC based (best matching immune system based) partner. When they come off the pill, their scent preferences change and they end up hating the guy they married, due to his - now unbearable- smell. This was shocking to me (mainly because this sounds very logical!). Note: More than 50% of marriages end up in divorce in the US.
- Dogs can smell out even tumors! (this may be a way for using them more in clinical practice)
- There are no pheromones in humans (the organ which is a separate structure called the vomeronasal organ (VNO), which is responsible for picking up the pheromone molecules does not exist in humans: Actually, human embryos may have a VNO, but after birth this tissue disappears.
-Our olfactory system is the first sense to develop. In fact, we have a fully functioning sense of smell by the time we are twelve weeks in the womb.
- "Proustian memories" are memories which are triggered by a scent. (These are emotionally vivid, sudden, and autobiographical recollections)
- When we perceive a scent the amygdala becomes activated, and the more emotional our reaction to the scent, the more intense the activation is. No other sensory system has a direct access to the part of brain that controls our emotions.
- A great (negative) surprise to white Europeans to learn that their body odor is regarded as inherently offensive, especially since they have so frequently used body odor to justify their own superiority :)
- Since the mid-1950s Chanel No. 5 has been the most famous perfume in the world, and it continues to outsell almost all its modern rivals today
- Between the ages of sixty-five and eighty, about one in four people have lost their sense of smell, and after age eighty, half the population has substantial smell loss
- "E-noses" (electronic scent identification devices) are being used more and more because: E-noses are cheaper and more accurate than human panels, they can reduce the amount of analytical chemistry that would otherwise be performed, they are easy to use, can produce immediate results, and are portable. E-noses are now being put to use in the perfume business to identify counterfeit products; at customs checkpoints to search for banned materials
- The average human nose can discriminate between 10,000-40,000 different odors, and professional smellers—literally called ���noses” in the fragrance industry—and perfumers, whisky blenders, and chefs may be able to discriminate upward of 100,000 odors :)
This was a fun a worthy read, so I suggest anyone interested in our most basic and neglected sense (which is olfaction, or smelling) to check it out!
August 13, 2025
Somewhere between a 3 & a 4- I plowed through this book in a very short period of time, but that wasn't necessarily because each chapter was engaging & it was super well written.
In fact, I found myself wincing at the little made-up blurbs throughout each chapter the author used to prove a point, & I felt that the focus of the book was all over the place. I mostly did not care for the last chapter about the history & future of scent technology, & yet that was the longest chapter, & I would've preferred if aromatherapy & the scents we're attracted to got more of the limelight. Simultaneously, I felt that the consistently near 30 page chapters were too long, & I'd hope that she would start wrapping things up or get to the point halfway through. I also think the name of the book is stupid & doesn't do a good job giving you any idea what it's about.
That being said, if you're willing to stick with it, there is some interesting stuff in here that may not be as emphasized or present at all in other books. All the stuff about not being able to find a single unanimously disliked smell, different types of sweat, how your natural scent is related to a section of your genome that signals immunity & how women subconsciously leverage this to pick a partner that will help them have a healthy child but this gets flipped on its head with the administration of oral contraceptives, & how to leverage aromatherapy to help you remember & get into certain modes of thinking is all really interesting.
We definitely take the sense of smell for granted- although this book doesn't provide a ton of actionable information & I can nitpick to death, I think in spite of that it still serves as a great foundation for knowledge on such an undermined facet of our lives.
3/5, until I'm able to sniff a student at the FBI academy through tiny airholes in bulletproof glass & determine that she's wearing Evyan skin cream these books are largely worthless
In fact, I found myself wincing at the little made-up blurbs throughout each chapter the author used to prove a point, & I felt that the focus of the book was all over the place. I mostly did not care for the last chapter about the history & future of scent technology, & yet that was the longest chapter, & I would've preferred if aromatherapy & the scents we're attracted to got more of the limelight. Simultaneously, I felt that the consistently near 30 page chapters were too long, & I'd hope that she would start wrapping things up or get to the point halfway through. I also think the name of the book is stupid & doesn't do a good job giving you any idea what it's about.
That being said, if you're willing to stick with it, there is some interesting stuff in here that may not be as emphasized or present at all in other books. All the stuff about not being able to find a single unanimously disliked smell, different types of sweat, how your natural scent is related to a section of your genome that signals immunity & how women subconsciously leverage this to pick a partner that will help them have a healthy child but this gets flipped on its head with the administration of oral contraceptives, & how to leverage aromatherapy to help you remember & get into certain modes of thinking is all really interesting.
We definitely take the sense of smell for granted- although this book doesn't provide a ton of actionable information & I can nitpick to death, I think in spite of that it still serves as a great foundation for knowledge on such an undermined facet of our lives.
3/5, until I'm able to sniff a student at the FBI academy through tiny airholes in bulletproof glass & determine that she's wearing Evyan skin cream these books are largely worthless
April 16, 2019
This is one of my favorite books of all time. Even though it's about the sense of SMELL! Rachel Herz turns what could of been quite dry, and turns it into a don't put down dive into the harrowing effects of losing such a vital primary/sentinel key organ of the 5 we learn about in kindergarten and throughout our academic career. Rachel used stories from real life studies, including her own. Drawing vivid picture's of how the loss of smell (anosmia) has gravely impacted people throughout history. I liked this book s much that I have highlighted several interesting and informative sections in almost every chapter! 👍👍
July 15, 2022
An interesting and entertaining read I enjoyed learning about the anatomical structures related to the sense of smell. Part of what prompted me to find a book on scent was one of the main symptoms of Covid; the loss of smell. I was curious how this may have effected all the people who lost their sense of smell in combination with the isolation required. It seems many people recover their sense of smell but some still claim it is not to the same degree as previously. Rachel Herz goes into the mental and anatomical implications regarding the loss.
I also enjoyed her speculation on other affects of smell on humans and animals it was very informative.
I also enjoyed her speculation on other affects of smell on humans and animals it was very informative.
December 9, 2023
The writer has a good style, which I first discovered while listening to Why You Eat, What You Eat. This is a shorter book that introduces lots of things related to smell. Each 20 page chapter introduces the reader to another facet of olfactory significance and the book concludes with a chapter on how smell will be used and has already been used to influence your shopping experience,to enhance the reality of a movie and to inure soldiers to smells they will experience in battle during simulations via a collar.
September 24, 2018
This book is very interesting,
All the studies, statistics and stories are inspiring and help in delivering the information in a very interesting way. It helps you to relate all what mentioned to your life.
All the studies, statistics and stories are inspiring and help in delivering the information in a very interesting way. It helps you to relate all what mentioned to your life.
October 17, 2016
After reading two other books on olfaction, "Jacobson's Organ" by Lyall Watson and "The Emperor of Scent" by Chandler Burr, I was severely let down by the presentation style, language, and content of this book.
The scientific rigour behind the research Herz describes has been diluted to the point of not conveying much other than soundbites. Yes, there are facts and figures, but they're not used effectively. If you are looking for a light, vaguely informative read on the subject that will probably lead nowhere deep, this is the right book to pick up. Otherwise, I would recommend the two books mentioned above, or the first chapter of "The Natural History of the Senses" by Diane Ackerman.
The scientific rigour behind the research Herz describes has been diluted to the point of not conveying much other than soundbites. Yes, there are facts and figures, but they're not used effectively. If you are looking for a light, vaguely informative read on the subject that will probably lead nowhere deep, this is the right book to pick up. Otherwise, I would recommend the two books mentioned above, or the first chapter of "The Natural History of the Senses" by Diane Ackerman.
July 30, 2018
Chapter 5 is by far the most interesting as it discusses MHCs, the genes that are outwardly sensed and indicate each person's unique immune system profile.
February 24, 2021
Bro, your sense of smell is pretty cool. (Also this book helped me study for my bio midterm so that’s a plus in my eyes)
October 2, 2023
A lot of interesting facts !
January 17, 2024
Thought provoking, interesting read
New ideas and new facts every chapter. Well written book that maintained my interest. The uniqueness of the human sense of smell well described.
New ideas and new facts every chapter. Well written book that maintained my interest. The uniqueness of the human sense of smell well described.
May 9, 2025
tikrai knyga nustebino. Niekada nepagalvojau, kad uoslė yra tokia svarbi mūsų gyvenime.
September 1, 2025
Kinda interesting for school
September 4, 2025
Title is hilarious but interesting theories about how smell and emotion is linked
October 13, 2025
Skaičiau jau anntrą kartą. Manau galima vėl skaityti po keleto metų. Paprastas, nesudėtingas tekstas, apie kvapų reikšmę mūsų pasaulyje.
July 16, 2017
If ever posed with the hypothetical "if you had to lose one of your primary senses, which one would you rather give up?" I would now easily forfeit anything but my sense of smell. Its deep, evolutionary ties to our emotions and thinking are too important to give up willingly.
This is how I would now rank my senses (excluding touch, because that's a difficult one to just up and "lose") from most important to least important: smell, hearing, sight, taste. Yeah, it's that important.
This is how I would now rank my senses (excluding touch, because that's a difficult one to just up and "lose") from most important to least important: smell, hearing, sight, taste. Yeah, it's that important.
September 13, 2023
Žiauriai klaidinantis knygos pavadinimas, nes iš pirmo žvilgsnio atrodo, kad čia kažkoks romaniukas ir turbūt dar nelabai pasisekęs.
Audiotekoje užsikabinau už šitos knygos dėl savo silpnybės kvepalams - tiesiog negalėjau praskrolinti nepaskaičiusi bent jau aprašymo. Ir iš tikro, jau pirmus skyrius perklausiusi supratau, kad Herz čia labai gražiai sudėlioja savo žinias ir mintis apie uoslę - šiaip tai wow, kokia ji dar neatrasta ir gerokai nepatyrinėta.
Man labiausiai įsiminė knygos skyriai apie tai:
- kodėl kai kurie dalykai mums kvepia, o kai kurie smirda (nėra visuotinai kvepiančių ar smirdinčių dalykų; yra tai, kaip mes juos suvokiame ir kokia asociacija buvo sukurta pirmąkart susidūrus su konkrečiu kvapu);
- kokią reikšmę visgi žmogaus kasdienai turi uoslė (gal nesusimąstom, bet iš tikrųjų - didžiulę);
- kiek verslas, o kiek tiesa yra aromaterapija ir feromonai.
Audiotekoje užsikabinau už šitos knygos dėl savo silpnybės kvepalams - tiesiog negalėjau praskrolinti nepaskaičiusi bent jau aprašymo. Ir iš tikro, jau pirmus skyrius perklausiusi supratau, kad Herz čia labai gražiai sudėlioja savo žinias ir mintis apie uoslę - šiaip tai wow, kokia ji dar neatrasta ir gerokai nepatyrinėta.
Man labiausiai įsiminė knygos skyriai apie tai:
- kodėl kai kurie dalykai mums kvepia, o kai kurie smirda (nėra visuotinai kvepiančių ar smirdinčių dalykų; yra tai, kaip mes juos suvokiame ir kokia asociacija buvo sukurta pirmąkart susidūrus su konkrečiu kvapu);
- kokią reikšmę visgi žmogaus kasdienai turi uoslė (gal nesusimąstom, bet iš tikrųjų - didžiulę);
- kiek verslas, o kiek tiesa yra aromaterapija ir feromonai.
May 17, 2012
this is a wonderful book about the science and psychology of scent. it's pretty much "science lite" and i'm grateful for that. i dont really need to know that much of the science except for the clif notes of it. as for the psychology, she goes to great lengths explaining why we enjoy and despise scents and where that comes from, etc., but she does it in a very accessible way. i liked how she tried to bring everything together with stories. to me, that's a lot more interesting to read when people do that. there is really a LOT of info in here that was new to me, and i liked that very much too. my only quibble is that she sometimes rambled and went on a few unnecessary rabbit trails. typically when she did so, i didnt really see fit to reading it, since it seemed impertinent, so i just skipped over some parts. the final chapter was...kinda meh. i was expecting a stronger finish than what she delivered, and i had to skip over a lot of what was said in the final chapter. in a book like this--especially with this style--the final chapter is a kind of epic wrap-up that ties together the whole book in a poignant story or drives home an essential point to leave upon the reader's mind. i didn't really get that with the final chapter, so it felt like just another informational chapter with the last couple of sentences serving as the "cool-down" of the book, which made it seem a little underwhelming. and another thing that i thought was funny is that she quoted herself in the final chapter's quotation. lol. i always think that's so funny and absurd. there's no point in quoting yourself if you're writing a book! just put it in the book! lol BUT...that's just a quibble, and really this book is a great read for anyone interested in scent. and like my favorite saying goes,
"This book is highly recommended." - Dave Johnson
"This book is highly recommended." - Dave Johnson
Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews