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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.

25 of 48 comments (clear)

  1. Colors you can see by suso · · Score: 4, Funny

    I remember throughout the 90s seeing various textbooks or articles saying that the human eye could only distinguish 16.7 million colors. *rolls 24-bit eyes*

    1. Re:Colors you can see by Katatsumuri · · Score: 1

      Yeah, and "all the music is made of only 7 notes!.."

      Massive over-simplification, generalization, and misinterpretation of maths and science in public culture is what allows us geeks to feel superior so easily.

    2. Re:Colors you can see by Twinbee · · Score: 1

      You're right - it's twelve, not seven.

      --
      Why OpalCalc is the best Windows calc
    3. Re:Colors you can see by Twinbee · · Score: 1

      Don't forget that only 24fps is needed for super smooth motion!

      --
      Why OpalCalc is the best Windows calc
    4. 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.

      --
      Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
    5. Re:Colors you can see by BrendaEM · · Score: 1

      They are also stating that people can only see ~1,000,000 colors, which is not correct for many/most people.

      --
      https://www.youtube.com/c/BrendaEM
    6. Re:Colors you can see by PPH · · Score: 3, Funny

      Evidently you've never heard anyone try to sing the Star Spangled Banner (To Anacreon in Heaven) at a basball game.

      --
      Have gnu, will travel.
    7. Re:Colors you can see by ColdWetDog · · Score: 2

      There's an app for that!

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    8. Re:Colors you can see by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      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.

      No, it's seeing there are people out there that aren't smart enough to build things themselves, that they have to hire a carpenter to do it for them.

    9. Re:Colors you can see by Bengie · · Score: 1

      I read something at some point that mentioned that while the eye can only see only a few million colors, it can see many many shades of each color. Which is why we easily see color banding.

    10. Re:Colors you can see by linear+a · · Score: 1

      Eleventy five?

    11. Re:Colors you can see by StikyPad · · Score: 1

      I don't remember ever seeing the number 16.7 million except to advertise a video card. Perhaps your memory is playing tricks on you?

      In any case, the number of colors humans can distinguish is far lower -- about 10 million.

      Also, the ability of LCDs to accurately render even 24-bit color is rare, let alone the full gamut of visible color. Many LCDs only render 18-bit color anyway, which is 131,072. Even in the case of true 24-bit displays, that's merely mapped to whatever gamut range the display has, not the complete spectrum of visible light. So that makes LSB changes almost certainly imperceptible.

      --
      https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
    12. Re:Colors you can see by slashdime · · Score: 1

      Why did you hire a carpenter? Are you too fucking stupid to work word with your own hands? Were you hiring the carpenter to build a high wooden horse for you to sit on?

    13. Re:Colors you can see by Bengie · · Score: 1

      I know a lot of dim-wits that can do math in their head but have no ability to apply math. I can't do math in my head but I can apply it. Two separate issues at hand.

    14. Re:Colors you can see by Dunbal · · Score: 1

      I can do it myself. It's cheaper for me to hire someone to do it. My time is worth more than his.

      --
      Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
  2. This is science by NotInHere · · Score: 1

    This is the result if news media take science publications as truth. Of course, most of them are well researched, but even if, every result can be questioned.

    1. Re:This is science by ColdWetDog · · Score: 1

      The problem I'm having with this is that the peer reviewers should have picked this one up. I think any statistician who looked at that and noted that the results are going to drastically change with test number should have called them out. I kinda thought that one of the things that Science (the magazine) was going do is run papers by a living, breathing statistician.

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    2. Re:This is science by ColdWetDog · · Score: 2

      Oops, test number and measure of statistical significance.

      Drat Slashdot. Where is the damned edit button.

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    3. Re:This is science by codeAlDente · · Score: 1

      An average statistician would not likely have identified an error here. Their extrapolation was intended to be novel, and part of the results. An average statistician can catch an average statistical lie, but Markus Meister is no average statistician.

      --
      He once inserted random mutations into his code, just so he could have the experience of debugging.
  3. Jokes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    There just HAS to be a fart joke in here somewhere, but i can't find it...

    1. Re:Jokes by CreatureComfort · · Score: 1

      The joke must be silent...but deadly.

      --
      "Unheard of means only it's undreamed of yet,
      Impossible means not yet done." ~~ Julia Ecklar
    2. Re:Jokes by reboot246 · · Score: 1

      How about one from George Carlin?

      I've got four farts . . . my Heineken fart, my broccoli fart, my rice pudding fart, and my non-dairy creamer fart, and that's not one of my farts! I know, the DOG farted!

  4. Now wait just a minute! by mark_reh · · Score: 1

    Every wine snob worth his inheritance knows that his nose (not yours) can be trained to distinguish at least a trillion scents, and they're all hiding in that glass of $500/bottle wine.

  5. Re:Flaw in Slashdot Summary by rogoshen1 · · Score: 1

    But perhaps humans and wolves, sharing a common ancestor have the same type of receptors -- able to detect the same compounds. With the only difference being acuity? :)

  6. I knew it was wrong... by Darinbob · · Score: 1

    I was suspicious about the original paper because something about it smelled wrong.