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There Aren't a Trillion Different Smells After All

Posted by timothy on from the but-only-two dept.

New submitter Neuronaut137 writes: Last year a paper in Science magazine reported that humans can distinguish a trillion different odors, a result that had already made its way into neuroscience and psychology textbooks. Two new papers just published in eLife overturn that result, pointing to fatal flaws in experimental design and data analysis. Oh, well; thinking I had a superpower was fun while it lasted.

1 of 48 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Colors you can see by Dunbal · · Score: 2, Interesting

    No, it's seeing people (like a carpenter I hired yesterday for a job) struggle to add 75 and 60 in their head that makes me feel superior. I don't expect them to understand complicated things.

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    Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.