Science Memes

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Petrichor (mander.xyz)

submitted 1 week ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] Live_your_lives 88 points 1 week ago (39 children)

Why would we need such a strong sensitivity to it?

[–] [email protected] 163 points 1 week ago (22 children)

We evolved in the Savannah.
Rain means the watering holes are filling up, which is obviously good cause we need water, but it also attracts prey animals.

[–] Windex007 7 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I'm still missing something here. For it to be useful, I'd imagine that it would need to inform decisions, and do so where existing senses would fail.

At least in my environment, if I can smell rain, I could also just as easily use my eyes to see the cumulonimbus clouds and say "rain, due east".

In the savanna are there scenarios where the only awareness of rain would be smelling it? Can you derive directionality at 5 parts per trillion? Does it matter?

[–] erev 9 points 1 week ago

you can smell it coming before you see it imo. that gives you time to get to shelter and to move to where the water/food is

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