By Tracy Schruder
Today I’m kicking off “The Nose Knows” series. I will be writing this series of blog posts within which, I dive into the world of scents, aromas and fragrances, the obvious ones and the subtle ones. I will also explore the odours of people, places, and things. I’ll be taking my senses on adventures—in forests, parks, and natural environments. I’ll then shift gears to explore manufactured spaces. My goal is to sharpen my awareness and level up my descriptive writing skills.
I’ll be recording all my experiences derived of my basic rhino-instincts as a human being, in blog posts.
Her Nose Knows
We are either one or the other—a boy or a girl. Our olfactory senses tell us the truth about “who” we are experiencing. We can instinctively tell if someone is either a male or a female by their odours. We can’t help knowing this because it’s in our biological makeup. This is why we can’t fake our gender because consciously or unconsciously, everyone can smell it.
Our sense of smell is closely tied to memory and emotional experiences. When it comes to perceiving differences between people, our brains process a mix of sensory inputs, including scent, appearance, and behavior.
Research suggests that humans can detect certain chemical signals, like pheromones, which may influence how we perceive others. However, these signals are complicated and can be influenced by various factors, including individual experiences and cultural background.
In the context of perceiving differences between people, our noses pick up on subtle cues that are often hard to put into words. These cues can be shaped by a combination of biological, environmental, and social factors.
As a writer, I’ve always been fascinated by the power of scent to evoke emotions and memories. Dianne Ackerman’s book, A Natural History of the Senses, beautifully captures the complexity of our sense of smell and its role in shaping our experiences. I can only hope that I will be able to put my experiences and thoughts into words as elegantly as she has.
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