Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Missing words
Professor Polistra has noticed an 'incomplete table' in our sensory vocabulary.
We have obvious and common words for the zero state, the lack of sensation, in most senses.
Sight: Dark.
Hearing: Quiet.
Taste: Bland.
Kinesthesia: Weightless.
Temperature: Tepid.
But what's the zero state for smell? We have a whole universe of terms for aroma, but no way to describe non-aromatic-ness. There is an obscure technical word anosmic, but it refers to a person without a sense of smell, not the absence of scent.
And how about touch? A small set of words for various kinds of touch: feathery, brush, pinprick, pinch; but no word for the lack of pressure. ¶ 4:03 AM
Professor Polistra has noticed an 'incomplete table' in our sensory vocabulary.
We have obvious and common words for the zero state, the lack of sensation, in most senses.
Sight: Dark.
Hearing: Quiet.
Taste: Bland.
Kinesthesia: Weightless.
Temperature: Tepid.
But what's the zero state for smell? We have a whole universe of terms for aroma, but no way to describe non-aromatic-ness. There is an obscure technical word anosmic, but it refers to a person without a sense of smell, not the absence of scent.
And how about touch? A small set of words for various kinds of touch: feathery, brush, pinprick, pinch; but no word for the lack of pressure. ¶ 4:03 AM
