Would we know smells existed if we didn't have a nose.?

Question: Would we know smells existed if we didn't have a nose!.!?

Is there some way that we would be able to discover smell exsist through science, or would we never know!? This just made me wonder if there are other elements or demensions to our world that exsist but we simply cannot sense them!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

Possibly!. We hypothosized pheremones before the receptors were discovered, yet we have no direct awareness of them!.

We do not have the "right ears" to hear the sub-sonic sounds of elephants or the high pitches a dog can hear, but we discovered those sounds, nevertheless!.

The argument that a "smell" is only something you can "smell" means the sub-sonic voices of elephants are not sounds--because WE cannot hear them!.

We cannot hear radio waves, but we can hear a radio, because we discovered those radio waves!. The same goes for microwaves--if they had not melted a chocolate candy bar in a researcher's shirt pocket, we might not have discovered them!.

So why say we could not discover aromas!?Www@QuestionHome@Com

Going along with your last statement, I've always thought of it like this: Imagine a 1 dimensional line on a piece of paper (obviously it can't actually be one dimensional in our world, but go with it)!. If it were to come face to face with a 2 dimensional square on the same plane, it would just see one side of it: another 1 dimensional line!. So, as 3 dimensional beings, are there 4 or 5 dimensional objects that we only see 3 dimensions of!?

As for the nose part, smell is what is known as a chemosensor, or a receptor that detects a chemical stimulus!. So the chemicals that our nose detects would still exist, but we would not have to ability to perceive their existence, and so probably wouldn't know that they existed!. Even if we did find out about them by some other means, I doubt we would be able to come up with the concept of "smelling" them!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

That is a really good question!!! The whole concept of 'senses' is overwhelming if you try to think of another sense we could possibly have, (besides ESP, I guess) because we have all the senses we need for this world!. So, any other sense would require a different element or dimension that we couldn't even understand!.

Anyway, to answer your question, I wonder if smell/scent/odor can be measured by an instrument!? If so, the answer must be ~yes~!. Otherwise, the ability to smell wouldn't even exist!.!.!. if no one could smell, we wouldn't even be able to conceive of the concept, right!?

Actually, I did just think of a sense that we could have!.!.!. Like, what if our hands glowed when we came close to something dangerous, like a poisonous creature, or a wild animal, or even a homicidal person!? (Yes, the movie Lord of the Rings inspired that thought; I was thinking about the sword that Frodo had that glowed blue when orcs were near!.) Anyway, that would be like a 'protective' sense!.!.!. Or, perhaps that example falls under the category of ESP!.!.!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

If we didn't have a nose then smell wouldn't exist!. If we didn't have ears then sound wouldn't exist!. Our senses are a human interpretation of the physical world!. We need them to make our interpretations real!. This question is similar to the often asked "If a tree fell in the woods and there was nobody around, would it make a noise!?"

I guess believers could say that they sense that God is real!. I don't have an argument against people believing in God if they can sense His presence!. After all it is their sensual interpretation that creates their reality!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

If any kind of living been in the planet hasn't, i think we'll never know, or at last not now, i also think there are a lot of "dimensions" here that we cannot feel or known!.
About you Detail about God, I think that in any kind of point of view (atheist and theist) is something that affects our lives because we can feel it and has been discovered!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

possibly!. I often wonder if there are other elements out there too!. I can't think of any though because I don't know what we're missing!. I have nothing to compare it to because I have never experienced any other senses!. Plus, how would you even know whether or not it's a new sense or just a feeling you get!. Maybe there are other worlds out there who consider each of our emotions a different sense!. Fun to think about though!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

smells don't exist if we don't have noses!. smell is not a natural thing that exists in the world around us!. it is created by your mind!. same goes for all your senses!.

it's like asking if we would still know that light has color if we had no eyes!. could science tel us!? no there is lots of light that we cannot see, it is light like any other but our eyes don't translate it!.

does the fact heat sensitive cameras seeing heat and translating it into color mean that heat has color!? no!. and light sensitive eyes ascribing color to light does not mean light has color either!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

we would probably be aware that something such as the sense of smell exists trough description, but i dont think you would know what a smell actually is!. a description of an experience is different from the experience itself!. for example, you may learn absolutely everything there is to know about riding a unicycle, but you still dont know what it is like to ride a unicycle!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I guess scientists would eventually discover what a smell is, though no man would ever smell anything!.

By the way!.!.!.
It's not just Christians who try to prove that God exists!. Just throwing that out!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

well we could taste them!. and yeah there are things about our world that we do not know and may never know!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

no nose, no smell!. simple!. period!.Www@QuestionHome@Com