11 ms·
I know we are used to people online having the wildest disagreement because of contrarianism or something, but in this case, there is a perfectly reasonable exp
by aredox 1y ago
I know we are used to people online having the wildest disagreement because of contrarianism or something, but in this case, there is a perfectly reasonable explanation:
You know we have three different types (sometimes four) of color sensors in our eyes? And that people who miss one or several of them are "colorblind" and fail tests like the Ishihara Test?
Well, human noses have hundreds of possible olfactory receptors, and everyone of us only has a subset of these, which means we are all "smellblind" one way or another.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK10824/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK10824/
Each one of us smells perfumes differently. The only think that we can agree on is a shared association or experience like the smell of a standard object (e.g. a road, asphalt) or of a common plant (flower or food).
- tpm 1y agoAlso smell is very tightly connected to memories and this adds more complexity. For example I like perfumes that use the notes of gasoline and some solvents because I liked to play around my grandfathers garage where he stored such stuff. Other people might have negative memories associated with these aromas and will perceive them accordingly.
- IAmBroom 1y agoDiesel and Camel cigarettes, ditto: I'm instantly an 8yo beside my grandpa in overalls. Most people would disdain that ... perfume.
- metamet 1y agoA great example of this is a scent I really like--Santal 33. The way everything mixes together, there's a dill pickle overtone that some people are really receptive to. I can smell it if I actively think about dill, but it's not the first thing I notice. Others seem to respond to it like a jar of pickle juice. https://basenotes.com/fragrances/santal-33-by-le-labo.26132812 https://basenotes.com/fragrances/santal-33-by-le-labo.261328...
- silisili 1y agoI'm definitely one of those people. The first time I smelled it on someone I thought they were sick, it was sour just like pickle vinegar. Not overly dissimilar to a sour sweat smell. I couldn't believe it when I found out it was a high end fragrance people would wear...willingly.
- cgannett 1y agoI am just trying to figure out if they are the bigger nerds or if we as commenters on the quality of their nerdy commentary is the nerdier group.