A child's sense of smell is so much more acute than an adult's, that the child experiences his environment in ways that are very different - and sometimes the opposite.
In a couple of week's time the Cow Parsley will dominate much of the English countryside, especially hedgerows. I now experience its smell as pleasantly sweet; but in the years I was walking to school along (very) narrow pavements alongside hedges, I was so overpowered by the smell of Cow Parsley that it made me feel horribly nauseated.
We had some family friends who lived in an "architect designed" modern house up above Torbay in Devon; and I dreaded our visits because - to my young nose - their house smelled so horrible.
The house was perfectly clean and well maintained; so I assume that the smell was probably something to do with its being made with "modern" materials, perhaps concrete and plastics; and perhaps also the presence of new and trendy furnishings?
Another bane of my young life was when my Father smoked a cigarette in the car; and we kids were sitting in the back seats.
I was always slightly prone to car-sickness (for example I could not read a book when travelling - and there was no car radio - so I was always bored stupid); but the added smell of smoke, and the fact that British cars in those days had no ventilation (except for windows, which could not be opened at speed due to the buffeting) meant that the back of the vehicle was horribly stuffy at all times.
Add cigarette smoke; and you get sheer torture.
I suppose this demonstrates the problem of sensitivity to the features of one's environment. Acute senses will pick-up lovely smells, and thereby enhance one's life - but they also do the opposite when the smell is disliked.
A receptive musician can appreciate good music, but is horribly tormented by the garbage anti-music that is imposed by so much of our modern world.
And one who gets profound enjoyment from beautiful architecture will almost be crushed by the usual run of public buildings and cityscapes.
I’d forgotten this aspect of childhood. I remember finding the phrase “stop and smell the roses” and sentimental pictures of small children sticking their noses into flowers baffling- why would you make yourself sick with such overwhelming odor when roses in particular can be smelled perfectly well from a distance? Christmas trees I particularly dreaded the smell of as they smelled rather like rotten fish. My parents seemed to think I was crazy or lying about that one.
ReplyDeleteI’ve had a few friends over the years who do sound for large-scale events and they are all exemplars of sensitivity. I do get irritable around kitsch or modern ”art”, but it’s negligible compared to the extreme agony “sound guys” go through when tech goes wrong.
@ Mia - I could have added wrt cigarette smoke, that it wasn't tobacco as such that smelled bad - because I disliked cigarette smells under all circumstances, while I rather liked the smell of cigars and pipes; although I never smelled them in a car.
ReplyDeleteGoing beyond the five senses; I have read that genuine natural psychics find ordinary life almost unbearably stimulating, and tend (if they can manage it) to become reclusive as a form of self-defence.
I remember cigarettes being painfully acrid as a kid whereas now I find them pleasant. I think the switch happened in late teens, at the same time that alcohol went from “Why would anyone drink this poison?” to “What is this sweet nectar of the gods?” Both have that sharpness that’s more appealing to dulled adult senses.
ReplyDeleteDo you think there’s any connection between very, very high IQ and psychic abilities? There was a super genius in my dorm at college who smoked a lot of marijuana to slow himself down. Practically the whole school was geniuses but he really stood out from the pack in particular bc he was #1 in all subjects. Many there had the experience of being “painfully smart” but he’s the only one I knew who self-medicated *so* much. He was also super humble and friendly and pretty normal. You really had to know him well to know accomplished he was. I wonder if he had psychic abilities enhancing his intelligence. He was unusually good at teaching also.
@Mia - "Do you think there’s any connection between very, very high IQ and psychic abilities?" Everything I have read suggests the opposite - if we are talking about spontaneous natural psychism. That's why "gypsies" are the most famous of psychics in Western nations (their average IQ is very low, maybe 75?). In the days of spiritualism, the mediums were often lower class than the clients.
ReplyDeleteMost of the most famous (real) psychics and mediums are not spontaneously thus *as adults* (they, like most people, may have been psychic as children), but are highly intelligent people who have been initiated or have trained themselves, and have thus learned to control their psychic abilities: examples of these include Rudolf Steiner and Dion Fortune.
Genius psychics can therefore usually survive at least, sometimes thrive, in "normal" life - whereas the natural psychic who is uncontrollably "wide open" all the time, like a child, is usually overwhelmed (at least in the modern West - other societies, like India until recently, are probably better suited to such personalities).
In general, I believe (as did Hans Eysenck; and see my book The Genius Famine for "evidence") that a large majority of the most highly intelligent people are neither psychic nor creative (and psychism and creativity are linked, psychologically in terms of personality traits).
But those rare individuals who are both intelligent and psychic may well be geniuses; as with Rudolf Steiner and Dion Fortune. This may apply to the person in your college; albeit that the West is now indifferent, or hostile, to genuine genius - and such people may be low status or social failures. I suppose one would need to know such individuals personally to evaluate them.
Very interesting, thanks! That’s more or less as I would expect.
ReplyDeletein re car sickness: I couldn't complete one sentence reading in a car before I started to feel nauseous; but in a train or bus, I was completely fine. Gordon
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