13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The nose knows - or at least takes good guesses, April 10, 2001
This review is from: What Flavor is Your Personality? Discover Who You Are by Looking at What You Eat (Hardcover)
This book is really about the world of smell first, taste second - and the findings, meanings, ramifications, and just plain weird and thrilling things neurologists, psychiatrists, educators, and all sorts of additional folks have learned in the past several decades about olfactory stimuli.
Dr. Alan Hirsch is a neurologist and a psychiatrist, and has published a study entitled "Effects of Garlic Bread and Family Interactions." He has my vote. The results of that study, and a series of other, equally engaging ones (on migraines and fragrance, firefighters' loss of smell, nostalgia, the effects of "malodors" and more) are included in the wonderful appendix of this very entertaining book.
Considering the wealth of understanding and information that Hirsch has at his disposal, this book is a bit "lite, " and the chapter on meat is quite general. But the narrative seems to be grounded in Hirsh's research, and in his especially playful and hopeful sense of human possibility.
In addition, Hirsch mentions some strange and interesting things: for example, research into humans and smell has shown that certain floral smells are stimulating, ever so slightly anxiety-provoking, and therefore promote learning in test subjects. (Your third grade teacher who "smelled good" may actually have enhanced your ability to learn - by wearing perfume.) Male chefs - for a variety of reasons - have senses of smell that are often less acute than the diners in the restaurant. In order to make foods "taste like themselves," artificial flavoring often does the trick better than natural flavorings. Men and women have very different noses. (Men, think twice about taking a female date to a barbecue.) If someone "smells right," it's a very, very good thing - for a developing relationship. Likewise, the "wrong" smell jinxes things - utterly. However, men are turned off by many fewer smells than are women.
Much of research has been done by Hirsch. The index is a bit scanty, but on the other hand I have no idea how he managed in this book to describe me to a T based on my preferences in food and odors. I pestered family and friends and they, too, were impressed with his on-target analysis of their psyches and behaviors - based on food and odor preferences.
This book is a lot of fun.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Light Look at Sense of Smell as a Personality Indicator, March 31, 2001
This review is from: What Flavor is Your Personality? Discover Who You Are by Looking at What You Eat (Hardcover)
Dr. Hirsch is a neurologist and psychiatrist who specializes in treating patients experiencing taste and smell losses. From this work, he was able to conduct many interesting measurements about how our sense of smell translates into personality and behavioral patterns. The book is written in a charming and light-hearted way that makes for interesting reading, much like a series of magazine articles. Each subject contains one or more quizzes to help you get insights into what your personal preferences could mean about your personality.
I was attracted to this book by having read Mean Genes. In that book, I learned that about a quarter of all people have a risk-taking gene that is highly associated with liking spicy food. It occurred to me that What Flavor Is Your Personality? could be a more detailed examination of other such genetic patterns. Although the book does not go so far as to claim that these are genetic traits, the studies cited suggest that there are underlying reasons for preferences among aromas and tastes that do correlate to personality and behavior patterns, after controlling for environmental influences. Obviously, this field is one that will develop rapidly after we know more about the human genome.
What the book claims is that "our food choices . . . can provide insight into our personality." This is true in part because the "desire for food . . . has an emotional component . . . " and research has shown "a less important family role in food preferences."
The book also points out research that suggests that our initial reaction to another person is heavily influenced by "an olfactory event." Certainly, we can all remember being repelled by someone who smelled bad to us. Can you remember being attracted to someone who smelled good (by something other than perfume)?
The reason that smell is so important is because "90% of taste is actually smell." Also, we lose our sense of smell with age (particularly after 50). So, for example, those who like spicy foods "may . . . have an impaired . . . or diminished sense of smell." Without offsetting that lost sense of smell, some people will feel depressed.
The book has separate chapters on snacks, ice cream flavors, fruits, spices and salt, cereals, sensual foods, soup, meat, and (of course) chocolate. The quizzes were often very accurate in describing my personality (and sometimes totally wrong). I felt like I was reading from a fortune teller's book in a way. So don't take this too literally. Perhaps the most interesting part of the book is that the aromas that arouse men and women are quite different. Many men respond to cinnamon rolls and pumpkin pie (dare I say that I love both?). Many women respond well to Good 'N Plenty and cucumbers. These conclusions are based on measuring blood flow to the relevant anatomical areas after eating the foods.
Clearly, food preferences don't tell the whole story, but you probably could use this information during a first meeting as one input to help size someone up for compatability. Many of the research findings in the book are designed to be used that way.
At the end of the book, there is an extensive test to get a handle on how risk-oriented you are. Much like Mean Genes, I showed up as someone who loves to try and does enjoy new things. Maybe I do have that adventuresome gene.
I think another application of this book is to help you deal with loss of taste and smell with age. My kids love to joke that "Dad doesn't have any taste buds left." And they may be right. What they have missed, however, is that maybe I don't have much ability to smell left. Chronic sinus infections and allergies may have done their work on me. From this book, I got many interesting ideas for aromas to surround myself with.
In any event, you can have a lot of fun with the book . . . just as long as you don't take it too literally. There are certainly many other influences on behavior and personality than the foods we like to eat.
Now, how about having some nice hot chocolate while you read this book? Maybe it would be better with a little cinnamon roll (if you're a man). Or, perhaps (like in the movie, Chocolat) some chilies would help.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
As deep as a magazine article, June 13, 2003
This review is from: What Flavor is Your Personality? Discover Who You Are by Looking at What You Eat (Hardcover)
I think the premise of this book is interesting - reflecting who you are by the tastes you prefer....the psychology of personality, the power of smell in memory and in attraction. The chapter titles enticed me (but it all seems to be advertising, with no depth) -- the writing and the information imparted in this book is no deeper than a magazine article. The book is probably worth paging through for fifteen minutes...you will catch all the information you need -- and will ever get from it -- that way.
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