The forgotten sense

the new science of smell--and the extraordinary power of the nose

The forgotten sense

the new science of smell--and the extraordinary power of the nose
Jonas Olofsson
Book - 2025

"James Nestor's BREATH meets Mary Roach's GULP in a fascinating tour of our most essential sense for perceiving the world around us-and the story of how it became our most neglected. Smelling is one of the most natural things we do. We take over 20,000 breaths a day, interacting with a host of scents with each one. Smell is also one of our most sensitive and refined senses; only dogs surpass our ability to perceive scents in the animal kingdom. Yet, as the millions of people who lost their sense of smell during the COVID-19 pandemic can attest, we too often overlook its role in our overall health. Now, one of the world's leading researchers on smell Jonas Olofsson reveals the fascinating science behind this forgotten sense. Drawing from cutting-edge original research, Olofsson reveals not only that the human sense of smell is extraordinarily sensitive, but how it engages our brain's full capacity. In fact, olfaction begins not in the nose, but in the brain, even before an odor's molecules reach our smell receptors. Our memories, personalities, preferences, and expectations shape the way we interact with scents, with profound implications for how we perceive the world around us. With playful curiosity and a breadth of scientific interest across neuroscience, psychology, linguistics, and even literature, THE FORGOTTEN SENSE reveals the wonders of smell, and all that we lose in neglecting it. We meet ancient philosophers who prized smell as well as the nineteenth-century scholars who associated it with "beastly" instincts and charted its devaluation for over a century. Olofsson untangles the role of smell in human evolution and answers the question of why two people can interpret the same smell differently. And, crucially, we see smell as the intellectual exercise that it is, with invaluable insight into how we might train our brains to strengthen and even regain our sense of smell after illness. For readers of Bill Bryson and Steven Pinker, THE FORGOTTEN SENSE reveals the depths of the most understudied function of human life"--

Saved in:

Holdings -

Central

Barcode Status Material Type CallNumber
37413322327240 Available New Adult Non-Fiction 612.86 OLOFSSO
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Olofsson, Jonas (Professor of psychology) (Author)
Format: Book
Language:English
Swedish
Published: New York : Mariner Books, [2025]
Edition:First US edition.
Subjects:

MARC

LEADER 00000cam a2200000 i 4500
001 963003
008 240816t20252025nyu b 001 0 eng
005 20250127213013.4
010 |a  2024023833 
020 |a 9780063394674  |q hardcover 
020 |a 0063394677  |q hardcover 
035 |a (OCoLC)1429665010 
040 |a DLC  |b eng  |e rda  |c DLC  |d OCLCO  |d OCO  |d OJ4  |d IUK  |d YDX 
041 1 |a eng  |h swe 
042 |a pcc 
049 |a UAGA 
082 0 0 |a 612.8/6  |2 23/eng/20241001 
092 |a 612.86 OLOFSSO 
100 1 |a Olofsson, Jonas  |c (Professor of psychology),  |e author.  |0 http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n2024043884 
240 1 0 |a Underskattade sinnet.  |l English 
245 1 4 |a The forgotten sense :  |b the new science of smell--and the extraordinary power of the nose /  |c Jonas Olofsson. 
250 |a First US edition. 
264 1 |a New York :  |b Mariner Books,  |c [2025] 
264 4 |c Ã2025 
300 |a 218 pages ;  |c 22 cm 
336 |a text  |b txt  |2 rdacontent 
337 |a unmediated  |b n  |2 rdamedia 
338 |a volume  |b nc  |2 rdacarrier 
504 |a Includes bibliographical references and index. 
520 |a "James Nestor's BREATH meets Mary Roach's GULP in a fascinating tour of our most essential sense for perceiving the world around us-and the story of how it became our most neglected. Smelling is one of the most natural things we do. We take over 20,000 breaths a day, interacting with a host of scents with each one. Smell is also one of our most sensitive and refined senses; only dogs surpass our ability to perceive scents in the animal kingdom. Yet, as the millions of people who lost their sense of smell during the COVID-19 pandemic can attest, we too often overlook its role in our overall health. Now, one of the world's leading researchers on smell Jonas Olofsson reveals the fascinating science behind this forgotten sense. Drawing from cutting-edge original research, Olofsson reveals not only that the human sense of smell is extraordinarily sensitive, but how it engages our brain's full capacity. In fact, olfaction begins not in the nose, but in the brain, even before an odor's molecules reach our smell receptors. Our memories, personalities, preferences, and expectations shape the way we interact with scents, with profound implications for how we perceive the world around us. With playful curiosity and a breadth of scientific interest across neuroscience, psychology, linguistics, and even literature, THE FORGOTTEN SENSE reveals the wonders of smell, and all that we lose in neglecting it. We meet ancient philosophers who prized smell as well as the nineteenth-century scholars who associated it with "beastly" instincts and charted its devaluation for over a century. Olofsson untangles the role of smell in human evolution and answers the question of why two people can interpret the same smell differently. And, crucially, we see smell as the intellectual exercise that it is, with invaluable insight into how we might train our brains to strengthen and even regain our sense of smell after illness. For readers of Bill Bryson and Steven Pinker, THE FORGOTTEN SENSE reveals the depths of the most understudied function of human life"--  |c Provided by publisher. 
650 0 |a Smell.  |0 http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85123629 
650 0 |a Olfactory nerve.  |0 http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85094598 
650 0 |a Nose.  |0 http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85092748 
700 1 |i Container of (expression):  |a Olofsson, Jonas  |c (Professor of psychology).  |t Underskattade sinnet.  |l English.  |0 http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n2024043882 
938 |a Brodart  |b BROD  |n 136640753 
938 |a YBP Library Services  |b YANK  |n 20982652 
938 |a Ingram Library Services  |b INGR  |n in022549012 
994 |a C0  |b UAG 
999 f f |s 4b795480-c02a-4e99-b9cd-aeb4e3624802  |i 55bd5a1b-0b0f-4bf2-adc8-352f024225e3  |t 0 
952 f f |p Standard Circulation  |a City of Spokane  |b Spokane Public Library  |c Branches  |d Central  |t 0  |e 612.86 OLOFSSO  |i New Adult Non-Fiction  |m 37413322327240