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Hidden Scents: The Language of Smell in the Age of Approximation
Hidden Scents will vaporize you into an aromatic molecule, tickling the brain-fingers in your nose.
A cacophony of receptor neurons activating and inhibiting, you become a recognized pattern and burst towards the limbic superhighway of the primitive organism.
You are an emotion, a virtual body-state stored in memory, coming to life once again in the act of perception.
In a breath, you are exhaled, washed away into the lexicographical maelstrom of the Language of Smell.
Hidden Scents explores our consensual reality, and reveals its inherent ambiguity. On the surface, however, it is a book about the olfactive system, not only of the human but of human culture. In the concluding series of essays, olfaction is used as a paradigm for navigating issues on the threshold of public discourse: space and dimensionality, artificial intelligence, quantum theory, and the future of the internet.
Be warned - you might never smell the same again.
A cacophony of receptor neurons activating and inhibiting, you become a recognized pattern and burst towards the limbic superhighway of the primitive organism.
You are an emotion, a virtual body-state stored in memory, coming to life once again in the act of perception.
In a breath, you are exhaled, washed away into the lexicographical maelstrom of the Language of Smell.
Hidden Scents explores our consensual reality, and reveals its inherent ambiguity. On the surface, however, it is a book about the olfactive system, not only of the human but of human culture. In the concluding series of essays, olfaction is used as a paradigm for navigating issues on the threshold of public discourse: space and dimensionality, artificial intelligence, quantum theory, and the future of the internet.
Be warned - you might never smell the same again.
94 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2014
2 people are currently reading
10 people want to read
About the author
Allen Barkkume
2 books4 followersThirty-something male living in Suburbia, New Jersey. Educator by trade, visual arts, high school level. I am in the business of explaining the difference between what things look like and what they are. Hidden Scents is my first attempt at authoring a work of non-fiction.
Varied educational background, spanning fine arts, art history, and pedagogical theory in the beginning, then turning to socio-infrastructural systems research in the end. Passionately maintaining personal studies in consciousness, culture, meta-cognition and the future of human interface. Coincidentally embedded in a social circle of professional and semi-professional culinary artisans.
Self-diagnosed with pseudo-hyperosmia, which means I only think I have a sensitive nose. Really, I am hypersensitive to my own thoughts – this is the case with most people who claim to have hyperosmia. I began this project out of anger and frustration at the dearth of information on the topic of Smell. As it turns out, the reasons for this data-vacuum are enough to write a book. And so I have.
Hidden Scents: The Language of Smell in the Age of Approximation
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/hiddens...
Varied educational background, spanning fine arts, art history, and pedagogical theory in the beginning, then turning to socio-infrastructural systems research in the end. Passionately maintaining personal studies in consciousness, culture, meta-cognition and the future of human interface. Coincidentally embedded in a social circle of professional and semi-professional culinary artisans.
Self-diagnosed with pseudo-hyperosmia, which means I only think I have a sensitive nose. Really, I am hypersensitive to my own thoughts – this is the case with most people who claim to have hyperosmia. I began this project out of anger and frustration at the dearth of information on the topic of Smell. As it turns out, the reasons for this data-vacuum are enough to write a book. And so I have.
Hidden Scents: The Language of Smell in the Age of Approximation
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/hiddens...
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 26, 2015
This was the second book I have read on the sense of smell recently. It is a treatise of passion and it provides a very convincing journey through the mysterious world of smells.
Except Suskind's book, Perfume, the sense of smell is generally left alone in literature and this book can explain you why it is so (Also why the book lost all its magic once made into a movie; i.e. translated to the language of Sound and Vision).
Hidden Scents is full of very interesting ideas, which I would have loved to be developed more, and it took me to interesting philosophical territories, which I enjoyed a lot.
In today's society our sense of smell is constantly overwhelmed to induce unconscious actions and a bit of conscious thinking on the phenomenon of smelling could put things into perspective for you; this book provides the necessary template for doing so.
Definitely an interesting read.
Except Suskind's book, Perfume, the sense of smell is generally left alone in literature and this book can explain you why it is so (Also why the book lost all its magic once made into a movie; i.e. translated to the language of Sound and Vision).
Hidden Scents is full of very interesting ideas, which I would have loved to be developed more, and it took me to interesting philosophical territories, which I enjoyed a lot.
In today's society our sense of smell is constantly overwhelmed to induce unconscious actions and a bit of conscious thinking on the phenomenon of smelling could put things into perspective for you; this book provides the necessary template for doing so.
Definitely an interesting read.
August 18, 2015
The author has a grand plan, although no reader will be harmed through the consumption of this book, as it seeks to “…vaporise you into an aromatic molecule, tickling the brain-fingers in your nose”. Flowery and possibly confusing wordplay aside, one of our most powerful senses, something that is probably less understood, will be taken for a literary whirl. Yes the power of smell is brought to the fore in this relatively slim, yet interesting book that considers hidden scents and how we react to them.
Let’s get the negatives out of the way first: the book can appear a bit stilted and defocussed; it would have benefited from a little more polishing in the hands of an editor. This can be a fairly common problem with self-published books, yet this may be forgiven when the contents are engaging.
You do sense the author’s enthusiasm and love for this subject. It is rather overwhelming, just like a strong scent. In fact, he gets a little too carried away. So it can be unclear whether this is a book aimed at the academic or the generalist. The reader is swamped with information that can appear slightly out-of-focus and overwhelming, yet some of the more desirable explanatory text (and it may only need a few lines at times) is dumped into endnotes at the end of the book. The reader is treated to a mix of textbook commentary about our senses and how they react to smells, mixed in with cultural references and opinions galore. It seems to be a workable, interesting read; even if it can feel a little laboured. The book’s relatively low price, in any case, softens any overt negativity.
To be fair, at times one’s eyes tended to skip over bits, before needing to be corralled back to what one might have missed. Here a strict editor’s influence would be king, as the overall content is engaging and more-ish, particularly when in focus. It was interesting to learn, for example, that Procter and Gamble had to change its marketing of Febreze because of how we react, or don’t react, to potentially obvious smells. The company’s advertisements sought to educate and attract the customer by a cue (harsh smell), routine (use the product) and reward (smell gone). The results confounded their expectations and subsequent research discovered that many ignored the cues – for example cat owners might be oblivious to the smell of cat urine that their little darlings can generate. By changing the cue to a visual one, such as a messy room, customers “got it” and the reward was suddenly a great smelling room by use of the product. The product was designed to eradicate smells, rather than enhance them (is that the same goal? It depends ‘what end of the telescope you are looking through’ perhaps).
More practical real-world examples could have been given, as there is quite a bit of research out there. Why do we react to certain chemicals when mixed together? Is a so-called top fragrance worthy of its name and price tag? Are we seduced by advertising messages, the packaging or the smell? Taken out of context, would we react in the same way? Which of our senses takes over and why?
Fortunately (or not?) the author decided to ignore surely the best-known joke about smells in the English language. Either due to ignorance or good taste it is immaterial but a “bad joke” is always worth repeating, especially if you have children close-by: “My dog has no nose/How does it smell?/Awful!”. Oh, the power of the pun…
So to conclude, it is difficult. The book could be better (translation: the reader’s senses are not being fully encouraged) yet it is still a good, reasonably priced, informative self-published labour of love. For that alone one shouldn’t be overly critical. With a bit of polish and additional editing it could be transformed from a good book to an excellent one – just like the Procter & Gamble executives noted, a bit of a tweak can make a big difference.
Hidden Scents, written and published by Allen Barkkume. ISBN 9781312564732. YYYY
Autamme.com
Let’s get the negatives out of the way first: the book can appear a bit stilted and defocussed; it would have benefited from a little more polishing in the hands of an editor. This can be a fairly common problem with self-published books, yet this may be forgiven when the contents are engaging.
You do sense the author’s enthusiasm and love for this subject. It is rather overwhelming, just like a strong scent. In fact, he gets a little too carried away. So it can be unclear whether this is a book aimed at the academic or the generalist. The reader is swamped with information that can appear slightly out-of-focus and overwhelming, yet some of the more desirable explanatory text (and it may only need a few lines at times) is dumped into endnotes at the end of the book. The reader is treated to a mix of textbook commentary about our senses and how they react to smells, mixed in with cultural references and opinions galore. It seems to be a workable, interesting read; even if it can feel a little laboured. The book’s relatively low price, in any case, softens any overt negativity.
To be fair, at times one’s eyes tended to skip over bits, before needing to be corralled back to what one might have missed. Here a strict editor’s influence would be king, as the overall content is engaging and more-ish, particularly when in focus. It was interesting to learn, for example, that Procter and Gamble had to change its marketing of Febreze because of how we react, or don’t react, to potentially obvious smells. The company’s advertisements sought to educate and attract the customer by a cue (harsh smell), routine (use the product) and reward (smell gone). The results confounded their expectations and subsequent research discovered that many ignored the cues – for example cat owners might be oblivious to the smell of cat urine that their little darlings can generate. By changing the cue to a visual one, such as a messy room, customers “got it” and the reward was suddenly a great smelling room by use of the product. The product was designed to eradicate smells, rather than enhance them (is that the same goal? It depends ‘what end of the telescope you are looking through’ perhaps).
More practical real-world examples could have been given, as there is quite a bit of research out there. Why do we react to certain chemicals when mixed together? Is a so-called top fragrance worthy of its name and price tag? Are we seduced by advertising messages, the packaging or the smell? Taken out of context, would we react in the same way? Which of our senses takes over and why?
Fortunately (or not?) the author decided to ignore surely the best-known joke about smells in the English language. Either due to ignorance or good taste it is immaterial but a “bad joke” is always worth repeating, especially if you have children close-by: “My dog has no nose/How does it smell?/Awful!”. Oh, the power of the pun…
So to conclude, it is difficult. The book could be better (translation: the reader’s senses are not being fully encouraged) yet it is still a good, reasonably priced, informative self-published labour of love. For that alone one shouldn’t be overly critical. With a bit of polish and additional editing it could be transformed from a good book to an excellent one – just like the Procter & Gamble executives noted, a bit of a tweak can make a big difference.
Hidden Scents, written and published by Allen Barkkume. ISBN 9781312564732. YYYY
Autamme.com
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews