10 years ago
Like if I try to think of a scent I can never fully replicate the scent profile on my mind
Not fully no. But thinking about a fragrance that impressed me before, I can recall enough of it to partly remember how it smelled, and decide whether I should smell it again or buy it. Obviously a memory is not the real thing. Duh
like I can very accurately do with an image, or a tune for instance
I'm convinced that your memory of images and music are not accurate either. Unless you have a photographic memory, absolute hearing or are a highly trained professional with great memory. OK, I admit that a simple tune can be remembered accurately because it contains much less complexity than an image or a complex scent. Also, I think that some fragrances are sufficiently simple so that a trained perfumer can recognize what's it made from and reproduce it (See the BBC documentary for that).
like what if for any reason I can't use X perfume anymore, I think I would have trouble remembering it without the re-experience
True. But when you try to remember and focus you might get -roughly- the scent profile back in your mind, even when it's not the full picture. Other times another scent may trigger the memory of the perfume.
Good luck with your N°5 dilemma
Not fully no. But thinking about a fragrance that impressed me before, I can recall enough of it to partly remember how it smelled, and decide whether I should smell it again or buy it. Obviously a memory is not the real thing. Duh
like I can very accurately do with an image, or a tune for instance
I'm convinced that your memory of images and music are not accurate either. Unless you have a photographic memory, absolute hearing or are a highly trained professional with great memory. OK, I admit that a simple tune can be remembered accurately because it contains much less complexity than an image or a complex scent. Also, I think that some fragrances are sufficiently simple so that a trained perfumer can recognize what's it made from and reproduce it (See the BBC documentary for that).
like what if for any reason I can't use X perfume anymore, I think I would have trouble remembering it without the re-experience
True. But when you try to remember and focus you might get -roughly- the scent profile back in your mind, even when it's not the full picture. Other times another scent may trigger the memory of the perfume.
Good luck with your N°5 dilemma