[macbem]

Out of curiosity, does lacking the sense of smell influence your sense of taste? Do some things taste wildly differently to you versus how your friends would describe them? I have a very weak sense of smell that comes and goes (sometimes I get weeks without being able to smell anything other than the strongest scents) and it definitely has an impact on my appetite and how much I enjoy certain foods. I have noticed that I'm much more sensitive to texture and mouth feel than others and I suspect it's because of this, but I also have AuDHD so I can't be sure.

[RedAlakazam]

I'm also a lot more sensitive about texture and mouth feel than friends and family. I know that my taste of things differs from others substantially and I cannot appreciate any nuances in food. Fine dining for example is just wasted on me. You could for example mix a lot of cinnamon, thyme, cilantro and turmeric in my rice and I wouldn't notice any difference as I just can't taste most spices at all since they seem mostly smell based. This also makes it a lot harder for me to actually pinpoint what I like about certain dishes and dislike about others. It's just a combination of texture and the basic tastes. I imagine someone who lost their sense of smell later in life would find the way I experience food horribly bland, but I don't! I still find great joy in food, just in a simpler way I guess.

[biinjo]

Genuine question: how would they know if it has always been a certain way?

If they _lost_ their sense of smell, they had something to compare it with.

[macbem]

That's why I asked about comparison with friends etc. Senses are highly subjective, hard to describe and I'm not a matter expert so I'm not hoping for a quantitative answer, but despite all this I believe there still are some learnings to be had from such discussions. HN is mainly a curiosity-driven forum - without this, we'd just complain about AI eating the world ad nauseam.