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What the Nose Knows: The Science of Scent in Everyday Life
Everything about the sense of smell fascinates us, from its power to evoke memories to its ability to change our moods and influence our behavior. Yet because it is the least understood of the senses, myths abound. For example, contrary to popular belief, the human nose is almost as sensitive as the noses of many animals, including dogs; blind people do not have enhanced powers of smell; and perfumers excel at their jobs not because they have superior noses, but because they have perfected the art of thinking about scents.
In this entertaining and enlightening journey through the world of aroma, olfaction expert Avery Gilbert illuminates the latest scientific discoveries and offers keen observations on modern culture: how a museum is preserving the smells of John Steinbeck’s Cannery Row; why John Waters revived the “smellie” in Polyester; and what innovations are coming from artists like the Dutch “aroma jockey” known as Odo7. From brain-imaging laboratories to the high-stakes world of scent marketing, What the Nose Knows takes us on a tour of the strange and surprising realm of smell.
In this entertaining and enlightening journey through the world of aroma, olfaction expert Avery Gilbert illuminates the latest scientific discoveries and offers keen observations on modern culture: how a museum is preserving the smells of John Steinbeck’s Cannery Row; why John Waters revived the “smellie” in Polyester; and what innovations are coming from artists like the Dutch “aroma jockey” known as Odo7. From brain-imaging laboratories to the high-stakes world of scent marketing, What the Nose Knows takes us on a tour of the strange and surprising realm of smell.
306 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2008
About the author
Avery Gilbert
8 books4 followersI’m a sensory psychologist specializing in odor perception. In real life, I’m an independent scientific consultant. In fantasy life, I’m the creator of Nick Zollicker, smell expert and man of mystery. Somewhere in between I appear in Shiseido TV commercials in Japan.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
July 22, 2018
This is an outstanding book about the science of scent. I was fascinated, surprised, and educated. It's erudite and broad, but written in an accessible style that's a pleasure to read. I'm reading everything I can find about the five senses, and this book is one of my favorites in my research so far. I was disappointed when I looked for other books by Avery Gilbert, but he doesn't seem to have written any.
April 3, 2009
"In this entertaining and enlightening journey through the world of aroma, olfaction expert Avery Gilbert illuminates the latest scientific discoveries and offers keen observations on modern culture: how a museum is preserving the smells of John Steinbeck’s Cannery Row; why John Waters revived the “smellie” in Polyester; and what innovations are coming from artists like the Dutch “aroma jockey” known as Odo7. From brain-imaging laboratories to the high-stakes world of scent marketing, What the Nose Knows takes us on a tour of the strange and surprising realm of smell. "
Full of fascinating facts and stories, Avery Gilbert is at his best when he is relating anecdotes. From robots that have the ability to smell to how perfume was invented this book covers the subject with intelligence and humor.
Full of fascinating facts and stories, Avery Gilbert is at his best when he is relating anecdotes. From robots that have the ability to smell to how perfume was invented this book covers the subject with intelligence and humor.
July 19, 2017
This book started out informative and fun, but lost steam about halfway through. Seems like the author ran out of interesting material and decided to fill in with long accounts of failed 'smelly' entertainment and outdated theories on the psychology of smell.
September 16, 2020
I remember having read somewhere that Smells have an elongated and diverse history in cultural rituals and practices. In ancient Egyptian culture for example, fastidious aromas such as myrrh and resin were intimately related to the deities; it was believed that some of those scents are derived from their bones or even their eyes in the case of the sun god Ra.
And then I had the fortune of coming across this book.
The opening Chapter of the book asks you: HOW MANY SMELLS ARE THERE? IT’S AN ODD QUESTION, but give it some thought. Mentally flip through the pages of your personal smell catalog. You find burnt toast, shaving cream, Grandma’s kitchen, and pine trees.
There’s the weird glue in the binding of that pocket-size Latin/English dictionary from high school. With a little effort you can come up with a lot of smells, but putting a number to them is difficult. How does one count the odors of a lifetime, much less all the odors in the world?
Fragrant scents were also used to evoke Greek gods like Zeus and sacred places like Mount Olympus. In Buddhist traditions, sandalwood has always been representative of the Buddhas and enlightened beings.
Smells almost unanimously serve as reminders of the human connection with faith and spirituality. As part of rituals in different traditions, certain scents and smells could cleanse, purify, and help to (re)connect with the divine on both an individual and collective level.
Certain religious communities have used smells to mark places, activities, and roles amongst themselves. Perhaps it is Christian literature that has given the most attention to sensational experiences as an educational and representational tool.
I have seldom read a book as fascinating as this one. The author guides you with the question: Where to begin? With a simple question: How many smells are there? The answer leads to psychology (“How do you count smells?”), technology (“How do you take apart a complex odor?”), and secrets of the trade (“How do you become a perfumer?”).
In the chapters of the book that follow, the author takes up other simple questions — What makes for a good sense of smell? Do bad odors make us sick? Can subliminal smells make us do things against our will? — and follow them to some strange and unexpected places.
Explore the book yourself. Welcome to the world of olfactory delight. Breathe deep and enjoy.
And then I had the fortune of coming across this book.
The opening Chapter of the book asks you: HOW MANY SMELLS ARE THERE? IT’S AN ODD QUESTION, but give it some thought. Mentally flip through the pages of your personal smell catalog. You find burnt toast, shaving cream, Grandma’s kitchen, and pine trees.
There’s the weird glue in the binding of that pocket-size Latin/English dictionary from high school. With a little effort you can come up with a lot of smells, but putting a number to them is difficult. How does one count the odors of a lifetime, much less all the odors in the world?
Fragrant scents were also used to evoke Greek gods like Zeus and sacred places like Mount Olympus. In Buddhist traditions, sandalwood has always been representative of the Buddhas and enlightened beings.
Smells almost unanimously serve as reminders of the human connection with faith and spirituality. As part of rituals in different traditions, certain scents and smells could cleanse, purify, and help to (re)connect with the divine on both an individual and collective level.
Certain religious communities have used smells to mark places, activities, and roles amongst themselves. Perhaps it is Christian literature that has given the most attention to sensational experiences as an educational and representational tool.
I have seldom read a book as fascinating as this one. The author guides you with the question: Where to begin? With a simple question: How many smells are there? The answer leads to psychology (“How do you count smells?”), technology (“How do you take apart a complex odor?”), and secrets of the trade (“How do you become a perfumer?”).
In the chapters of the book that follow, the author takes up other simple questions — What makes for a good sense of smell? Do bad odors make us sick? Can subliminal smells make us do things against our will? — and follow them to some strange and unexpected places.
Explore the book yourself. Welcome to the world of olfactory delight. Breathe deep and enjoy.
August 15, 2008
The title made me expect this would be about how the brain interprets incoming signals from the nose. In fact, there is just too little known about that to fill a whole book for the non-specialist. Instead, this book is padded with tangents such as the history of Smell-O-Vision vs. AromaRama, a debunking of subliminal advertising, and a dethroning of Proust as having had some special insight on the link between smell and memory.
There are many interesting tidbits. Most of them reveal how little we know about smell, rather than how much. And there is a great deal of debunking of traditional wisdom. For example, even highly-trained professionals can't reliably pick more than 3 or 4 of the components out of a blend of odors. Humans are just as good as dogs and other animals at detecting the presence of drugs and similar tasks; we just aren't very interested in sticking our nose on 1000 suitcases every day.
Altogether, this is a fun read. But I hope someday to find one that goes deeper into the science of odor perception.
There are many interesting tidbits. Most of them reveal how little we know about smell, rather than how much. And there is a great deal of debunking of traditional wisdom. For example, even highly-trained professionals can't reliably pick more than 3 or 4 of the components out of a blend of odors. Humans are just as good as dogs and other animals at detecting the presence of drugs and similar tasks; we just aren't very interested in sticking our nose on 1000 suitcases every day.
Altogether, this is a fun read. But I hope someday to find one that goes deeper into the science of odor perception.
April 8, 2013
This book had a VERY rough start - the beginning gave my a very different expectation of what this book would be than what it turned out to be. The first chapter used illustrations of his points about classifying smells that were not well-explained or well connected. What I expected was a pretentious, fashion-oriented book that discussed smell in the narrow context of perfumery. Relatively quickly, though, the book turned into what I had hoped for - a dynamic discussion of the sense of smell, incorporating science, culture, literature, psychology, numerous other interesting angles. Compared to other books of this type, it all felt a little shallow. The author claims overall that smell is a largely ignored sense, and I have a hard time believing that our understanding of evolution and prehistory wouldn't give those learned in the subject a little better context for understanding the importance of this sense. Overall, though, I learned a lot, and was quite entertained - this is a strong sample of this type of broad, nonfiction, subject-area approach to a topic.
April 13, 2018
This got off to a decent start, going into detail about how professional "noses" work (what industries, how they train, what they do, how they think, etc.) and a small amount of history on perfumes. Also interesting to me were the sections about how retail companies have experimented with scent in stores and in ads. This part of the book, I'd give three stars.
The science is a bit lightweight, but there's nowhere near as much information available on the sense of smell as there is vision and hearing.
The middle part of the book covers scent in the arts and literature. Maybe it's because I am just not a huge Proust or Steinbeck fan, maybe it's because this (long) section was more rambling and speculative in style, but I was just plain bored with it. This was the two-star part of the book, and it felt like it would never end. Slightly more interesting is the history of the attempts to develop scent as part of theater via Smell-o-vision and AromaRama).
The science is a bit lightweight, but there's nowhere near as much information available on the sense of smell as there is vision and hearing.
The middle part of the book covers scent in the arts and literature. Maybe it's because I am just not a huge Proust or Steinbeck fan, maybe it's because this (long) section was more rambling and speculative in style, but I was just plain bored with it. This was the two-star part of the book, and it felt like it would never end. Slightly more interesting is the history of the attempts to develop scent as part of theater via Smell-o-vision and AromaRama).
June 21, 2016
In the past few months I have learned about aroma from an expert in the industry. This book added greatly to my continuing education in how aroma contributes to taste, memory, enjoyment, entertainment and identity. Many don't know that aroma is responsible for 60% to 80% of taste. Taste buds can only recognize the basics. Nuance is all controlled by aroma. I expected the educational part. The sections that were really fun included the history of aroma in books and films. Also the section about manipulating genetics and receptors to block the smells that might bother you.. like the smell of urine, food you like too much or an old boyfriend or girlfriend. Seems all of that is possible. Enjoy.
September 5, 2008
This book was pretty good, and I liked it better than the last similar one that I read (This is Your Brain on Music). Unfortunately, like with Levitin's book, this one had trouble holding my interest in the last quarter or so.
There were a lot of fun tidbits about smell and how it relates to taste, memory, etc. How do you quantify smell? I recommend it as a book to pick up from the library.
There were a lot of fun tidbits about smell and how it relates to taste, memory, etc. How do you quantify smell? I recommend it as a book to pick up from the library.
March 31, 2010
This is a popular science exploration of scent. Unfortunately the author does a better job of the popular part and not enough with the science. Each chapter is vaguely connected around a theme but is filled with cheap jokes and digressions to make the central point hard to follow. While there are nuggets of information scattered throughout the book, I found it a chore to read. By the end I wasn't at all interested in any of his philosophical points of view around the future of scent technologies.
Want to read
October 13, 2010Ok, so far the author has reputed old and simply incorrect information found in both of the other "sense of smell" books I read, what 5 or 6 times. He makes engaging, intelligent, and articulate argument that wins me to his side every time. IF YOU ONLY READ ONE BOOK ON THE SENSE OF SMELL -- THIS MUST BE IT!! (And you should totally read this, even if you weren't interested before -- this book is a winner!)
Unfortunately, this is due back to the library, & the rest of the book doesn't apply to what I'm researching. WAH! Guess I'll move this into my "To-Read Queue." Note: pg 91
Unfortunately, this is due back to the library, & the rest of the book doesn't apply to what I'm researching. WAH! Guess I'll move this into my "To-Read Queue." Note: pg 91
November 19, 2008
fascinating journey both literary and scientific exloring our fifth sense.
July 18, 2017
Cool-ish. Way too much material on scent in lit and art, and not enough science.
Material on perfume industry was fascinating
Book loses the plot about halfway through.
Material on perfume industry was fascinating
Book loses the plot about halfway through.
January 11, 2024
Several fascinating aspects of scent science and marketing are highlighted here. Unfortunately, the author’s tone is insufferably haughty, rigid and judgemental, and he seems unable to conceive of cultural experiences beyond his own. His often sexist wisecracks are unfunny and quickly become very tedious. Despite the rich seam of the subject matter, his writing is repetitive, frequently muddled and wavers between an apparent desire for scientific rigour and wild speculation. There’s a baffling section towards the end that declares perfume a feminine interest and conflates masculinity with an appreciation of technology. I know this was written in 2008, and the passage in question is lighthearted in tone, but that’s bleak stuff. It feels like the work of a very narrow-minded, uninspiring individual. A slog to get through.
March 28, 2021
Kemampuan kita dalam mengalisis bebauan ternyata terbatas
(hal 51)
Buku ini mengingatkan saya pada kisah Aroma Karsa. Sama-sama membahas tentang penciuman. Ada beberapa orang yang memiliki kemampuan mencium luar biasa. Sementara, ada juga yang kurang peka terhadap bau.
Salah seorang rekan saya yang tunanetra, bercerita bahwa ia mengenali kami dari bau badan yang ia cium. Awalnya kami sempat merasa risih, apakah bau yang dimaksud adalah bau tak sedap? Ternyata ia mengenali bau yang keluar dari badan bercampur dengan aroma parfum yang dipakai. Ia juga menemukan bau lain, namun bukan berarti buruk. Jika ada yang berganti parfum, ia membutuhkan waktu lebih lama untuk mengenal kami.
(hal 51)
Buku ini mengingatkan saya pada kisah Aroma Karsa. Sama-sama membahas tentang penciuman. Ada beberapa orang yang memiliki kemampuan mencium luar biasa. Sementara, ada juga yang kurang peka terhadap bau.
Salah seorang rekan saya yang tunanetra, bercerita bahwa ia mengenali kami dari bau badan yang ia cium. Awalnya kami sempat merasa risih, apakah bau yang dimaksud adalah bau tak sedap? Ternyata ia mengenali bau yang keluar dari badan bercampur dengan aroma parfum yang dipakai. Ia juga menemukan bau lain, namun bukan berarti buruk. Jika ada yang berganti parfum, ia membutuhkan waktu lebih lama untuk mengenal kami.
May 17, 2020
Recenzje na okładce tej książki sugerują, że to prawdziwa komedia i lekka, a zarazem naukowa opowiastka o zapachach. Tymczasem humoru tam tyle co na pogrzebie, a ostatnie 80 stron stanowią przypisy. Nic w tym dziwnego, bo autor chyba miał cel zacytować wszystkie poematy świata, w których pojawiło się cokolwiek o zapachu.
June 11, 2020
I love, love, loved the first 2/3 of this book. I read it like a 10 year old with a book of facts -- I inhaled the information and constantly interrupted my husband's own reading with my constant shares. I would love to have a conversation with the author about some smell-related ideas I have.
The last bit of the book got slower and felt less focused. But still really enjoyed it.
The last bit of the book got slower and felt less focused. But still really enjoyed it.
August 20, 2022
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The content is novel, perspective unique. I loved the cross referencing of different fields.
December 29, 2022
A wonderful and well-researched guide to the sense of smell. Some books about smell find themselves using too much scientific phraseology for the average person, but this book is readable for all.
January 13, 2023
Menambah wawasan mengenai indra pembau kita. Membahas aroma dari sains hingga seni-budaya.
February 3, 2024
This book was really interesting!
April 23, 2024
intriguing!
March 19, 2017
這本書最令我印象深劇的，是翻譯的作者！她生動活潑的文字，大大增添了閱讀的樂趣，閱讀起來格外開心，呵呵 ～
November 11, 2008
Pleasant enough of a pop-nonfiction book about smelling things. Not too technical of about the mechanics how smell gets perceived by the brain- too much controversy I suppose. (See Luca Turin's book- The Secret of Scent) Nor was it entertaining in the a la Mary Roach style either. There are some better books out there to read about the subject of scent. But if you want an easy read, with the basics covered, with a side of the history of Smell-o-Rama, Smellovision, and a small detour into how capitalists are capitalizing on scent. This may be the book.
December 3, 2009
Much information is given humorously about poop, rotting corpses, scented ads, sex differences, and scent in literature in this nonfiction book in the Young Adult section. The author discusses Smell-O-Vision, as well as scents in stores and hotel lobbies to "brand," or as an advertising tool. (If you've ever walked into the Cloudveil store, you'll notice the their pine scented branding!)
November 16, 2008
Read this because I don't have a sense of smell. I do reflexology and occassionally get my sense of smell back.
He talked about perfumes and food etc He did cover nosmia the lack of sense of smell.
He talked about perfumes and food etc He did cover nosmia the lack of sense of smell.
March 22, 2009
Reacquainted me with and validated the experience of smelling, complete with a pleasantly sarcastic sense of humor, anecdotes and critical research. This book made chemistry seem alive and exciting. (It got a little slow in places, but was still well worth the read.)
Shelved as 'decided-not-to-read'
November 17, 2009It almost seems like a collection of scent-related trivia. Examples: (some) butterflies have a smell, it's possible to use scent to induce fear, there are "olfactory wheels" for everything from wine to sewage effluvia.
July 10, 2011
Very entertaining insider's account of the olfactory industry. One would never guess how much industry makes use of the subtle influence of smell in promoting their wares. On the other hand, we totally undervalue, and consequently under develop our sense of smell. Packed with interesting trivia.
February 10, 2012
Reading this book was like listening to a smart acquaintance enthusiastically talk about their job---it was really interesting, but my neophyte brain got saturated before the expert brain was done expounding.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews