I was recently reading about the
senses (as in some sort of
social history of the senses, but rather chaotic and from a certain point utterly uninteresting -
I will come back to that at some point, maybe here, maybe somewhere else). There was a chapter that particularly gave me cold chills: about people losing their
sense of taste (and
smell with it!)...
I know that having one sense blocked (that is, losing it), makes the others stronger. I would probably have a hard time - but survive (psychologically speaking, and after a certain period of despair) - if I lost my eyesight, hearing, or voice (of course, maybe because none of these three are working at full
power, and they sometimes fail to serve me well). But when it comes to
touch, smell, and taste - losing them would be a cataclysm for me. These three latter senses define my life and they are so sensitive that if my other overrated senses fail me, I will judge an object by touching,
smelling, maybe tasting it - if it's edible.
Of course, I am glad I have a
deviated septum - is that the right word? - (which makes me have a
running nose almost all the time - and people tell me stuff like ...
well, you always have a cold). My nose is so sensitive - not as sensitive as a cats, but pretty fly for a human, still (yeah, sometimes I feel bragging is a good thing, now take it, modesty!) - that if I didn't have a filtering layer, I think I'd feel sick (stomach, mostly) and cranky every 5 minutes or so. So, you can understand why I can't eat stuff like, fish, liver ... even boiled milk. Oh, and omelets made in the microwave can cut my appetite for more than a day!
About touch... I buy things (even book), by how soft they are. Of course, I also love smelling new books, magazines or albums, but if I don't like touching the material they're made of (if I can't run my hand smoothly over its surface without it hurting me - as in a too strong or spiky -
and especially if it makes screechy sounds - not that I have anything against
Screech: still love him, even after that
sex-tape scandal...).
And about taste... Of course smell helps a lot. I love surprise tastes: as in tasty liquid inside a tasty chocolate or something. Like my brains expects one experience of chocolate until I finish eating it, but at some time there is an explosion of a syrup of some kind (I also love when sometimes salt explodes in my mouth, for some reason). I also love mixed tastes, especially sweet and salty. Maybe it's something generic, but some sweets (especially cheesecakes or cakes that have a lot of cream) that literally boost my mood, apart from using sugar for medical purposes (blood pressure, low energy, etc.). I love smelling coffee (and lately, also drinking it), apples, spring flowers and gasoline.
I know all these go and come from the brain (that crazy bastard, so cool, yet so tricky!), but they are so much more than just a bunch of senses. They are our weapons, our little friends that not only make our lives safer, but much more ... beautiful. Our memories are triggered by senses, not only an image, a sound (a song?) ... But you know ... concerning a famous madeleine ... How much stronger are emotions and memories triggered by tasting, smelling or touching something?
