Essential Oils

I have a very strong sense of smell.

I used to burn candles in my house.  When you have a big dog, especially one that spends a lot of time outside, you need something to freshen the house, especially in winter.  What do you do in the summer, though?  That was always the conundrum.  Having lived here almost 15 years, though, I can now see the accumulation of soot on the ceiling above where my candles are, and sometimes even darker areas on the walls near candles.  I like the smell and the ambiance but not the residue.

Then I got a diffuser with essential oils.  All the nice smells, none of the soot.

Despite my strong sense of smell, I'm not one of those people who believes that certain scents make you "happier", "calmer", or more "focused".  I don't believe that certain smells will help me go to sleep faster, will cause me to breathe easier, or will cure cancer.  When it comes to essential oils, I just like the smells.

I must have a good BS-detector (also, language warning for the excerpt below):

Now a new study shows that a tendency to mistake the meaningless for the profound is a good indicator a person may also put an overzealous amount of faith into essential oils...

A general tendency to be receptive to bullshit – so being more likely to be taken in by made-up or empty rhetoric – means people are more likely to go all in on the claims of essential oils, the researchers report. That has implications for how doctors might guide patients to more reliable treatments in the future.

"We found that receptivity to pseudo-profound fabricated statements and religiosity were the most consistent predictors of greater use of, perceived effectiveness of, and a willingness to spend more money on EOs," write the researchers in their study...

"Of all the personality and personal variables we looked at, being high in receptivity to bullshit was the most consistent predictor," psychologist and lead researcher William Chopik, from Michigan State University, told Eric W. Dolan at PsyPost.

"Bullshit receptivity reflects people's willingness to endorse meaningless statements as meaningful."

One of the sample statements in the experiment was "as you self-actualise, you will enter into infinite empathy that transcends understanding" – if you have a high bullshit receptivity, you're more likely to see that statement as profound rather than nonsense.

People less able to spot and recognise bullshit were more likely to think that EOs would improve friendships, boost spirituality and heal health issues, even if the oils weren't specifically marketed to cover those areas.

I fire up the diffuser almost daily.  I like the smells.