Ideas Why smell — our invisible superpower — deserves more acclaim
Sep 16, 2025
Annie Bender, a producer passionate about olfactory stories, and Johannes Frasnelli, a professor specializing in the anatomy of smell, delve into the often-overlooked power of our noses. They discuss how our sense of smell surpasses even dogs in detecting spoiled food and its crucial role in health diagnostics, especially for neurodegenerative diseases. The conversation highlights the emotional connections tied to scent, the rich vocabulary from other cultures, and the fascinating world of fragrance research. It's a celebration of an unseen sense that deserves our admiration!
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A Woodworker Who Lost Smell
- Derek McLeod lost his sense of smell in 2017 and describes his smell world as blank.
- He found the loss depressed him and erased shop smell memories.
Why Smell Triggers Memory
- Olfactory signals go to limbic brain areas that also process emotion and memory.
- This shared circuitry explains why smells powerfully trigger nostalgia.
Historical Snub Against Smell
- Western thinkers historically ranked smell low, linking it to animalistic traits.
- That cultural demotion shaped modern undervaluing of olfaction.
