My sense of smell has gotten a lot better in the last few years (don't ask me why, but probably NOT working in an office). That said, taking a walk around the neighborhood you know how the dogs must feel.
"Ah, Amazon driver with too much cologne passed here an hour ago. PU!"
"Hmm, looks like that teenager girl with way too much perfume walked this way"
"Oh, the neighbors took a shower about 10 minutes ago"
"A baby with a dirty diaper in a stroller passed this way 30 minutes ago... Don't the parents know?!"
@ai6yr Same. It may be masking, indoor air filtering, and not having even a cold for 4 years. But it also might be mental attention: if I'm outside and smell shampoo, I've trained myself to consider whether I'm too close to somebody.
@ai6yr
i have had "hyperosmia" since my 3rd covid, summer '22. but for me it's also, like, dys-osmia? things smell very strong, plus all fucked up. when ppl start cooking, i hide from the odors.
@ai6yr I recall a science fiction story a while back, in which someone unleashed a virus that turned off the part of our brain that suppresses smells; it turns out that we have very powerful sense of smell, but our brain suppresses many of them to avoid overwhelming us (this part is true, and there have been people who had particular kinds of brain damage which enhanced their sense of smell to a remarkable degree).
@unlambda I can see how a very good sense of smell would be useful to the humans out in the wild, but is a severe problem in the middle of a dense city!
@ai6yr In the story this caused civilization to collapse, because no one could stand to be around so many other people, and no one could stand the noxious fumes of burning hydrocarbons or various industrial processes.
@ai6yr When I quit smoking back in 2010, I started noticing amazing angels again, but the downside was that I was noticing not-so-amazing smells as well.
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