The forgotten sense The new science of smell--and the extraordinary power of the nose

The human sense of smell is more potent than commonly believed, according to this entrancing debut. Debunking the myth that humans are "odor-impaired animals," Olofsson, a psychology professor at Stockholm University, cites a 2015 study that found humans are more sensitive to numerous scents than mice, spider monkeys, and all other animals that researchers looked at, except dogs. He explains that "smells have a unique capacity to evoke memories of childhood" because the olfactory brain shares more connections with the brain's memory center than do areas associated with other senses. The most fascinating sections explore Olofsson's contention that olfactory processes are shaped by culture, as when he discusses how the Dassanech people of Ethiopia consider the smell of manure attractive on a man because of its associations with livestock and wealth. Odor perceptions are also intimately bound up with ideas people have about the world, Olofsson posits, describing his own research that found people who reported feeling the most disgusted by body odor tended to rank highly in xenophobia. (He attributes the result to a metaphorical "fear of infection" that draws on racist descriptions of marginalized groups as unhygienic to conflate ingesting harmful substances with immigration.) As enlightening as it is surprising, this stimulates. Agent: Paul Sebes, Sebes & Bisseling Literary. (Jan.)

Opening our eyes to our noses. Yes, the nose knows. In fact, it knows much more than we often give it credit for, and Olofsson aims to address the shortcoming. As a professor of psychology at Stockholm University, where he directs the Sensory Cognitive Interaction Lab, he has been studying our sense of smell for 20 years, and here he brings together a persuasive body of research, both his own and that of others. He notes that humans top many animals (but not dogs) in olfactory sensitivity and that scents have a direct connection to the brain, evoking complex memories and emotional responses. He examines how different cultures find certain aromas pleasing or disgusting, which gives him the chance to insert some wry humor, especially about the fermented herrings for which his country is famous (or infamous). He looks at why Covid-19 temporarily robbed certain people of their sense of smell, and in some cases changed it. A loss of a sense of smell may be a warning signal of illnesses such as Alzheimer's, although more research is needed in this area. Smelling skills can be heightened through training and experience, and Olofsson speaks to several chefs and winemakers whose noses are a professional asset. After reading the book, one might well become more aware of the scents around them, whether usual or remarkable. Olofsson writes, "One aim of this book has been to make the readernosewise: to realize that the sense of smell, often unnoticed, influences so many of the most important parts of our lives. Most of us have a world of smells to discover." With intelligence and wit, a researcher raises our sensitivity to smell. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.