tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8125354955146250762.post5097122412256933655..comments2024-02-20T16:10:31.948-07:00Comments on First Nerve: Another Clown Prince of Perfumery?Avery Gilberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18104017679971839738noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8125354955146250762.post-89046584422214405812011-06-26T08:36:34.193-07:002011-06-26T08:36:34.193-07:00Lucha Turalura is a joke but this Oregon guy's...Lucha Turalura is a joke but this Oregon guy's "perfume house" has the best price on any Comme des Garcons anywhere, for that alone he deserves our credulity.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8125354955146250762.post-13531203356264517902009-07-24T17:01:45.019-07:002009-07-24T17:01:45.019-07:00Thank you - thank you - thank you - for confirming...Thank you - thank you - thank you - for confirming this. I am a psychology student and found the theory laughable from the first moment I read it. You know what else rubs me the wrong way? Turin's going on about synaesthesia, which has positively promoted a fashion among perfume lovers, writers and critics to fancy themselves as... synaesthetes. I'm like <i>really</i>! It's a <b>condition</b> people! One you cannot turn on and off at will! <br /><br />Well, saying this won't make me many friends maybe. But it's late at night so my inhibitions are lowered significantly enough to just rant... :PDivinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14846908655432168778noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8125354955146250762.post-44742097422019928052009-07-23T10:18:49.619-07:002009-07-23T10:18:49.619-07:00Okay, good -- that helps clear things up for me. ...Okay, good -- that helps clear things up for me. Burr's book made it sound as if the lack of experimental data was trivial compared to the scientific stonewalling on the part of Turin's detractors and critics. I should have known better.<br /><br />A vibrational theory of smell is fascinating, and you're right, it's the kind of thing that makes for fantastic drinking conversation, but I've been wondering lately why, if it seems so perfect, that there haven't been more (any?) advances in the field. <br /><br />I think that even the scent development company (Flexitral) that Turin signed onto (with much fanfare) is pretty much spinning its wheels. The latest "news" on their website is from 2006 (beyond a 2007 announcement that they switched web and email hosting).<br /><br />Thanks for taking the time to respond. It's always helpful to get more sides to the story.Nathan Branchhttp://www.nathanbranch.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8125354955146250762.post-34054000151077661832009-07-20T21:11:17.110-07:002009-07-20T21:11:17.110-07:00Nathan:
Here's the deal--if you're going ...Nathan:<br /><br />Here's the deal--if you're going to promote a theory in neuroscience you need to make specific predictions and back them up with experimental data, like electrophysiological recordings from a rat nose, or sniff tests with humans. Turin can't be bothered to gather such data; and the people who have gathered it find scant evidence, if any, to support vibration theory. In graduate school after the third pitcher of beer on a Friday evening we've all come up with an amazing theory that is fucking brilliant and explains everything. The next morning we take an aspirin and head back to the lab to work on a reality-based project. Well, most of us do.<br /><br />As for the Wellcome fellow, Dr. Jennifer Brookes, she appears to be a serial apologist for Turin--having co-authored two physics papers that basically say, "No, wait! Vibration theory is theoretically possible." Great--more theory to prove a theory. How about demonstrating the location and physical operation of this amazing vibration detector? If it's real, an experimentalist should be able to play it like a fiddle--make you smell different things by modulating a tuning fork. Alas, Brookes intends to explore Turin's theory using an artificial MIT biosensor instead of an actual biological nose.<br /><br />I think it's time for vibrationists to pick a real nose.Avery Gilberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18104017679971839738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8125354955146250762.post-66777346664872357722009-07-20T17:05:40.513-07:002009-07-20T17:05:40.513-07:00Mr. Gilbert, I love dropping by and reading your b...Mr. Gilbert, I love dropping by and reading your blog because I get tidbits like this: "thanks to Chandler Burr’s lick-job of Luca Turin, people think the vibration theory of olfaction is taken seriously by scientists."<br /><br />The lick-job was entertaining, and it made for a page-turning story of scientific intrigue. I didn't realize that it was considered so totally bunk-worthy as you imply. <br /><br />Is there nothing about vibrational theory that's worth continuing to explore? I ran across a notice that a Fellowship grant was offered to a post-graduate student researching vibrational theory:<br /><br />http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/News/Media-office/Press-releases/2009/WTX055926.htmNathan Branchhttp://www.nathanbranch.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8125354955146250762.post-41155805960177256262009-07-16T08:41:31.148-07:002009-07-16T08:41:31.148-07:00I'm excited you commented on my post!
One of ...I'm excited you commented on my post!<br /><br />One of the reasons I like your writing so much is because you debunk all the myths in the industry.<br /><br />I think the fragrance industry has an unhealthy attachment to obfuscation. For example, perfume triangles that don't accurately reflect the contents, or shampoos that purport to smell of 'White Lotus' but often just smell of apples. <br /><br />The smoke and mirrors aids the aforementioned delusional / wily qualities of some characters, but in the bigger industry I wonder if it's there to hide the fact that there <i>is</i> a man behind the curtain, but he's a bean counter who doesn't like risk (especially given the huge amount of money dedicated to each product launch). And is therefore inclined to copy other successful products on the market rather than develop something truly new. As in many creative industries artistry often bows to commerce: <br /><br />http://www.gocomics.com/nonsequitur/2001/06/18Elizanoreply@blogger.com