They're complete perverts with bizarre structures

18. The Emperor of Scent: A Story of Perfume, Obsession, and the Last Mystery of the Senses by Chandler Burr

This was an interesting read about a man obsessed with perfume who proposes a completely new mechanism of smell. At times it is difficult to concentrate on because the writing is as frenetic as the man being written about. You really need a scientific background in order not to get lost in whole chunks of the book, at least a basic knowledge of biology, chemistry, and physics (is that all, you ask). The reason Dr. Turin can propose his theory of smell (that the receptors in your nose read a smell molecule's electron bond vibrations to determine smell, not its shape) is because he is interested in EVERYTHING. His degree is in biology, but he has also taught himself quite a bit of advanced chemistry and physics. The bulk of the book concerns his fight to get his theory taken seriously, much less accepted. As of the publishing of the book (2002), neither had happened. As such, the book also emphasizes what science REALLY is and is not. Scientists have their own ideas and agendas and will fight desperately for those ideas and agendas despite mounting evidence to the contrary. Science urges the publication of "new and original" research, but only as long as it doesn't contradict a "long held" idea or rock a major financial boat. Science is not impartial.

This book takes some time to get through, but I found it interesting given my propensity to play with scents. I think this book is really only readable by people interested in either smell or "trouble-making" scientists.