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Optimisation is a Slow Process (mander.xyz)
submitted 2 years ago by to c/science_memes@mander.xyz
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[–] 8 points 2 years ago (7 children)

Isn't smell just particulate matter hitting receptors not dissimilar to how taste receptors send taste signals to the brain? I thought science had this stuff nailed down now?

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago (6 children)

    That's what they theorize. How do you prove it?

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  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago (5 children)

    Science shit?

    I dont know....but I wouldn't say that's a good reason to doubt it, for example I don't know how they proved black holes exist but they seem pretty confident.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago* (4 children)

    Ok, if it's just particles how does it distinguish the particles on a molecular level. This is important shit. The closest science can do is gas chromatography and that's an instrument which exists in any reputable lab. Also, using gas chromatography for this a far cry from the simple function of our sense of smell which can distinguish scents just by simply introducing a fragrence.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Maybe I'm misreading your tone, but I'm not trying to argue with you - I'm genuinely curious about this and if you have superior knowledge I'm open!

    My understanding from a quick skim of Wikipedia citations suggests we understand what's involved (particles and receptors) but the actual mechanism around encoding of signals seems to be theory.

    We also can't teach a computer to think, but we still have quite a good idea of how it works.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    I believe the receptor cell responds to a particular part of the molecule in question. Artificial flavourings and scents have identical (or similar enough) parts to trigger the same response, but are otherwise different molecules.

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