4 ms·

"If this hypothesis is correct, then the next time you relish the scent of fresh rain, think of it as a cultural imprint, derived from your ancestors." This is

"If this hypothesis is correct, then the next time you relish the scent of fresh rain, think of it as a cultural imprint, derived from your ancestors." This is challenging the intelligence of it's readers. I thought that was actually the whole point of the article, and the premise rather than a doubtful conclusion? It spends the majority of it's paragraphs discussing what compounds the smell, which while really interesting, does not at all help explain why it smells good. Oh, so it's some oils, so what? Oils can smell greasy and funny. There's no such thing as a scent being inherently "good." It's all a product of our evolution.

firefoxman1 14y ago
It also doesn't answer my main question: Why does the air smell good right before it rains. I'm sure being able to smell rain coming had evolutionary advantages...but how does it work?
- cxseven 14y ago
  It's probably the smell of ozone and ions causing particles in the air to adhere to surfaces, cleaning it like how electrostatic air filters work. http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/1998-08/897083302.Ch.r.html http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/1998-08/897083302.Ch.r....
- Kliment 14y ago
  Moist air coming down. Has the same effect, just less so.
shawn-butler 14y ago
Such is the dangerous appeal of (neo)Lamarckism. Epigenetic changes by mechanisms such as imprinting can lead down that primrose path easily. While reading this article I was reminded of my reading of a science fiction novel sometime in the past, the author of which escapes me, where it was noted that interstellar travelers could identify which planet they were on by its distinctive smell for a short time before it drifted into background sensory experience and disappeared. If I remember correctly in this novel, Earth had an odor similar to excrement ;-) I wonder if it has any basis in reality, like for example if long-term residents of the space station notice smells differently briefly upon returning planetside?

firefoxman1 14y ago

It also doesn't answer my main question: Why does the air smell good right before it rains. I'm sure being able to smell rain coming had evolutionary advantages...but how does it work?

cxseven 14y ago
It's probably the smell of ozone and ions causing particles in the air to adhere to surfaces, cleaning it like how electrostatic air filters work. http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/1998-08/897083302.Ch.r.html http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/1998-08/897083302.Ch.r....
Kliment 14y ago
Moist air coming down. Has the same effect, just less so.

shawn-butler 14y ago

Such is the dangerous appeal of (neo)Lamarckism. Epigenetic changes by mechanisms such as imprinting can lead down that primrose path easily. While reading this article I was reminded of my reading of a science fiction novel sometime in the past, the author of which escapes me, where it was noted that interstellar travelers could identify which planet they were on by its distinctive smell for a short time before it drifted into background sensory experience and disappeared. If I remember correctly in this novel, Earth had an odor similar to excrement ;-) I wonder if it has any basis in reality, like for example if long-term residents of the space station notice smells differently briefly upon returning planetside?