But John Caprio, a physiologist who studies catfish, says the difference between smell and taste couldn’t be clearer. Taste is reflexive and innate, while smell is not.[*29] From birth, we recoil from bitter substances, and while we can learn to override those responses and appreciate beer, coffee, or dark chocolate, the fact remains that there’s something instinctive to override. Odors, by contrast, “don’t carry meaning until you associate them with experiences,” Caprio says. Human infants aren’t disgusted by the smell of sweat or poop until they get older. Adults vary so much in their
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