Smelling in multiple dimensions

Smell is perhaps the most subjective of the human senses, making odors difficult to measure and define. In everyday language, in the philosophy of aesthetics, and in the lab, this low opinion of odors means that smells are often characterized simply along an axis of good or bad. Odors and the ways they are perceived, however, are varied and incredibly complex, requiring an understanding of chemistry, neuroscience, aesthetics, and social science. Science and art that engage the sense of smell have the potential to expand our understanding of how biology and chemistry interact.