‘Love is a state in which a man sees things most decidedly as they are not.’ –Nietzsche
Around 1 in 7,500 otherwise healthy people are born with no sense of smell, a condition known as isolated congenital anosmia (ICA). So dominant are sight and hearing to our lives, you might think this lack of smell would be fairly inconsequential. In fact, a study of individuals with ICA published last year showed just how important smell is to humans. Compared with controls, the people with ICA were more insecure in their relationships, more prone to depression and to household accidents.
photo { Francesca Woodman, Self-portrait talking to Vince, Providence, RI (RISD), 1975-78 }
