Smell & Tell: Get Inside Your Olfactory Mind

When

Tuesday March 11, 2025: 6:00pm to 7:30pm  Add to Calendar /   Add to Google Calendar

Where

Downtown Library: 4th Floor Meeting Room

Description

The time it takes to identify a smell takes place in a fraction of a second in a single sniff (60 milliseconds according to a 2024 study [1]). That's as fast as we perceive colors. Describing a smell takes longer and, contrary to popular belief, is not because we're bad at it; it's because we're not encouraged to engage in olfactory calisthenics more often—and talk about it.   

Autobiographical memories inspired by taste and smell follow specific paths in the brain. Smells are processed as emotions and memories first, followed by language (descriptors, detailed recollections, etcetera). There's more to these generative, chemosensory journeys when conscious smelling of odorants is combined with all of your senses.   

How is this accomplished? Attendees at Smell & Tell will be introduced to a novel method called "The Smell Rolodex", which allows curious noses to engage in multisensory experiences with a series of odorants that mirrors how the brain sorts and remembers smells.   

The Smell and Tell series of art+science programming is led by Michelle Krell Kydd, a trained nose in flavors and fragrance who shares her passion for gastronomy, sensory evaluation and the perfume arts in Glass Petal Smoke. Smell & Tell builds community through interactions with flavor, fragrance and storytelling.   

[1] Wu, Y., Chen, K., Xing, C. et al. Human olfactory perception embeds fine temporal resolution within a single sniff. Nat Hum Behav 8, 2168–2178 (2024).