tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16821859.post116641735835327722..comments2024-03-26T16:03:42.608-06:00Comments on Flares into Darkness: news @ nature.com - People track scents in same way as dogs - Human reputation for poor sense of smell is down to lack of practice.ambisinistralhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03836786826294202405noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16821859.post-1166423486296602602006-12-17T23:31:00.000-07:002006-12-17T23:31:00.000-07:00"We have a much better sense of smell than rats an...<I>"We have a much better sense of smell than rats and dogs because of our greater brainpower," says Shepherd. "This shows that in a few training sets, humans can achieve something that other animals spend their life being trained to do."</I> --Shepherd<BR/><BR/>I call bullshit. I call bullshit on the whole article, which is frankly bizarre. I don't know if the fault lies with Shepherd or the reporter, although the latter is a good bet. Especially as the more controversial claims of Shepherd get more play than the remarks of Porter, who was actually involved in the experiment. The key point is delivered by Porter at the end of the article: "Our work certainly proves that if you can smell something, you can improve your ability to track it..." Well sure, practice makes perfect. But that is much less stunning than the claim that the "Human reputation for poor sense of smell is down to lack of practice."<BR/><BR/>Now, I have read of a servant in India sorting laundered clothes by smell, but such tales are rare and possibly not true. There are also folks with unusually sensitive noses who can get jobs sniffing subway tunnels for gas leaks and such. And some hunters can smell deer. But I think ordinary experience shows that the normal sensitivity of people to smells is less than, say, a hound. Otherwise, why employ dogs at all except that they are closer to the ground? The experiment itself is interesting but didn't address sensitivity as far as I can tell.<BR/><BR/>Arrggghhhh.chuckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15164145672293455823noreply@blogger.com