4 ms·
Humans Navigate with Stereo Olfaction
- brudgers 6y agoanother paper on the topic that does not require subscription, https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0129387 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal...
- traceroute 6y agohttps://sci-hub.tw/https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2020/06/17/2004642117 https://sci-hub.tw/https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2020/0...
- est31 6y agoI've thought that you are only breathing through one hole of your nose? Is there still some minor airflow through the other hole to enable stereo olfaction?
- gridspy 6y agoIf one of your nostrils is permanently blocked, this is abnormal. Perhaps you want to see an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist?
- din-9 6y agoThey were referring to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasal_cycle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasal_cycle I assume.
- est31 6y agoIndeed I was. E.g. check this figure: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5053491/figure/pone.0162918.g011/?report=objectonly https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5053491/figure/... One nostril has basically no pressure changes while the other one does. How can you smell that way in stereo?
- jessaustin 6y agoPresumably breathing has no effect on the diffusion of odors from far away to the immediate vicinity of the nostrils. So, diffusion can also take odors from the temporarily-inactive nostril deeper into the sinus.
- gridspy 6y agoInteresting, thanks for educating me :)
- blacksmith_tb 6y agoI think that's a reference to the nasal cycle[1]. I notice it pretty commonly when sleeping, but during waking hours, esp. if I am exercising, both nostrils seem to be unblocked. 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasal_cycle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasal_cycle
- floatingatoll 6y agoIf it changes sides over time, and there is minor airflow through the slower side, then yes, that's apparently normal. If it doesn't change sides over time, or if airflow remains completely blocked through the non-open side throughout every day, look into it further. (This is not a complete ENT diagnosis flowchart and is not a substitute for an ENT consultation, but has enough detail to survive the basic hypochondria issues of reading Internet medical articles.)
- keenmaster 6y agoIf the study is true, and Dr. HN has diagnosed you correctly, you have a nasal version of amblyopia accompanied by attenuated stereonasal perception.
- wizardforhire 6y agoObligatory Feynman anecdote (quickest reference story I could find worth linking to, rest of the article is relevant as well) https://www.salon.com/1999/07/28/smell/ https://www.salon.com/1999/07/28/smell/
- boxfoxdox 6y agoHaha good article. I always smell things before I eat them by default. One interesting thing I noticed is how much smell boosts taste. Some time ago I lost my sense of smell completely and I distinctly remember how the food tastes boring and plain with just texture and sweet and salt making any difference. Smell adds so much to it that I was honestly surprised.
- feintruled 6y agoYes, surely this must be the main use for human smell, to evaluate the safety of food. I remember being laughed at in my youth because I would always sniff a drink before drinking it (these were in my university days so a lot of odd concotions were imbibed). Seemed to me that it gave some very crucial information about what you were to expect!
- snarfy 6y agoMy father-in-law was a produce inspector for 40+ years. He said that after a while, all he ever did was smell it. He could be walking up to the truck or rail car from across the parking lot and know if it was good or bad.
- McTossOut 6y agoThose swiffer dusters with a bit of scent on them so as you navigate around you can feel where you've dusted better.
- aaron695 6y agoAnother thing working remote can't do (not that I'm fully sold olfaction is stereo) Digital will not replace most human orientated things until it can directly program the brain.