You have been using your senses of smell and taste ever since you first came into the world, and can now perceive tens of thousands of scents and flavors with no difficulty. That is because you possess magnificent systems that make this possible. Your senses of smell and taste work faultlessly and tirelessly on your behalf, throughout your entire lifetime. What is more, you have paid nothing for them, have received no specialized training and make no effort at all in order to make use of them.
Medical and biological textbooks on the subject tell us that we owe our perceptions of smell and taste to our noses, tongues and brains. It is true, of course that we perceive flavors and odors by means of these organs. Yet another point here is ignored, whether consciously or otherwise. The question that’s generally overlooked and that really needs to be answered is this: To whom do we owe the existence of our noses, tongues and brains?
Most people think that it is sufficient to know that they smell with their noses and taste with their tongues, and are not concerned with the intricate details. Yet this is a serious mistake to make. Taste and smell are inseparable, essential elements of everyone’s life, and it is terribly heedless for anyone aware of that to ignore the significant details that these senses present.
