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Perfumers can learn to distinguish individual odors in a fragrance made of hundreds of scents.
調香師通過學習,能一一辨別出香水是由哪上百種的氣味調配而成
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Tea experts have been known to sniff out not just the location where a tea was from,
品茶師除了能夠聞出茶葉的來源地之外
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but the season of harvest and whether it was planted by a plum tree.
也因著能聞出它的收割季節以及是否由梅樹種植而聞名
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And the New York City Transit Authority
而在紐約市公共運輸局
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once had an employee responsible only for sniffing out gas leaks in the subway system.
更曾有一名從業員專門負責聞出地鐵系統中有沒有氣體泄漏
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Can just anyone learn to smell with the sensitivity of those experts?
是不是任何人都可以把嗅覺訓練到像專家的一樣呢?
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For most of us, what we smell is largely involuntary,
大部份人聞到的氣味多是不受控制的
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whether it's garbage behind a restaurant,
無論是餐廳後方的垃圾堆
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the shampoo of the woman leaving an elevator as you enter,
在電梯和你擦身而過的女士散發的洗髮精香味
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or a bakery's fresh-made bread.
或是麵包店新鮮出爐的麵包香味
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With a few million olfactory receptors in our noses,
我們的鼻腔中有上百萬種嗅覺接受器
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we clearly don't lack the ability to smell well.
我們的嗅覺當然也可以非常靈敏
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We just might not always pay close enough attention.
只是我們並沒有好好去留意
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That's a shame because we may be missing opportunities to make strong emotional connections.
更可惜的是,我們可能會因此失去了打造強烈情感連結的機會
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Smells are powerfully linked to emotions
氣味和情感之間是緊密相連的
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and can awaken memories of places we've long ago left and people we've loved.
並且可以喚起我們對舊地和愛人的記憶
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But fortunately, it is possible to train our brains to smell better.
幸好,我們可以訓練自己的大腦,讓嗅覺變得更靈敏
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For example, Helen Keller was able to recognize a person's work,
舉個例子,海倫凱勒能透過嗅覺去辨別人的職業
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and in her words,
她曾說:
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distinguish the carpenter from the iron worker, the artist from the mason or the chemist, by a simple inhale.
「要區分木匠和鐵匠;區分藝術家、泥水匠和化學家,只需吸一口氣」
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Follow these steps and you too can change the way the world smells to you.
依照以下步驟,你「聞」世界的方法也會截然不同
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First, stick your nose in it.
首先,湊近你的鼻子吧
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Some animals that are known to be great smellers,
動物界中一些嗅覺能手
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like dogs who can sniff out explosives
例如可以嗅出炸藥的狗
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and pigs who can find truffles underground,
和可以找到長於地下的松露的豬
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put their noses right at the place they want to smell.
都會把鼻子湊近想要聞的地方
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Human noses, meanwhile, are casting around in the middle of the air,
而人類卻是在空氣中尋找想要聞的氣味
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giving us an anatomical disadvantage.
這無疑是我們身體結構上的劣勢
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So bring your nose close to the world around you.
所以,把你的鼻子靠近你的四周吧
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The ground,
地面
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surfaces,
表層
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objects,
物件
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the food in your hand.
手上的食物
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Get close to your dog,
靠近你的小狗吧
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your partner,
你的伴侶
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the book you're reading.
你在看的書
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Not only will your nose be closer to the odor source,
這樣子,你的鼻子不但會更接近氣味的源頭
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but the warmth of your breath will make odors easier to smell.
呼吸時所呼出的熱氣也會令你更容易聞到氣味
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Second, sniff like you mean it.
第二,認真地去聞吧
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Smelling actually happens way up near the bridge of our noses
嗅覺其實是位於我們的鼻根上方
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in a postage stamp-sized square of tissue called the olfactory epithelium.
於一個稱為「嗅上皮」的正方形、郵票大小的組織中產生
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When we sniff, odor molecules are sucked up into our nostrils
當我們嗅的時候,氣味分子會被吸入鼻孔
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until they hit this tissue
直到它們接觸到嗅上皮
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where they combine to our olfactory, or scent, receptors.
並和嗅覺接受器結合
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When we inhale normally, only a little air makes it there.
正常吸氣時,只有很少空氣能到達嗅上皮
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But one or two solid sharp sniffs
但如果我們用力一嗅
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will ensure that more air gets to your smell receptors.
就能確保有更多空氣和嗅覺接受器結合
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After just a few more sniffs,
多聞幾下後,
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the receptors, which are best at noticing new smells,
擅長發現新氣味的接受器
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turn off temporarily.
就會暫時關掉
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So you can give your nose a rest and sniff again later.
好讓你的鼻子稍作休息,才再運作
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Finally, dwell on the smell.
最後,集中在氣味上吧
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Most smells pass by us with little attention,
我們常常會忽略身邊出現的氣味
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but simply noticing what you're smelling
但只要留意到你聞到的氣味
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and by trying to describe it, name it, and locate its source,
然後嘗試去形容它、說出來、找出源頭
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you can expand your vocabulary of smells.
你就能擴展你所知道的氣味了
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When an odor molecule binds to a scent receptor,
當氣味分子和嗅覺接受器結合後
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it sends an electrical signal from the sensory neurons
感覺神經元就會發出電信號
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to our brain's olfactory bulbs.
送到我們大腦中的嗅球那裡
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The signal then continues to other areas of the brain,
之後,信號又再被傳遞到大腦的另一地方
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where it's integrated with taste,
並先與味道
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memory,
記憶
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or emotional information
或情感訊息融合
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before registering to us as a smell.
才讓我們意識到氣味
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FMRI (Functional magnetic resonance imaging) research shows that
功能性磁振造影研究顯示
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the extra time spent focusing on scent changes the brain of experienced smellers.
由於經驗豐富的嗅味專家多聞香味,他們的大腦也有所改變
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For them, perceiving and imagining odors becomes more automatic than for non-experts.
比起非專家,他們會更自動地去感知和猜想氣味
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To get started yourself, take ingredients from your kitchen:
要開始訓練自己的嗅覺,先在廚房拿一些材料吧
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spices,
香料
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vanilla,
香草
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or fruit,
抑或水果
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but never anything toxic.
當然不要拿有毒的啦
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Close your eyes and have someone bring them under your nose.
閉上眼睛,叫人把它們拿到你鼻子下方
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Sniff and try to name the source.
聞一聞,試試說出它是甚麼吧
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Over time, you'll begin to appreciate nuances in familiar odors
久而久之,你就能察覺到不同熟悉氣味之間的細微分別
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and recognize characteristics of new and unusual smells.
亦能辨別出新氣味和異常氣味的特徵
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The perfumer has practiced these steps enough to become an artist of odor,
調香師反覆練習後才成為氣味藝術家
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but even if you never pursue smelling to that degree,
就算你沒打算要像他們那麼的專業
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the spectacular result of an unspectacular action
一個小動作也能造就非凡的效果
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will change how you sense and experience your days.
並將改變你如何感受、經歷每一天