Confessions of a Perfume Nerd

a year ago

The author's fascination with perfume began in middle school as a way to bridge social gaps with more affluent peers.
Perfumes like Polo Blue and Fierce served as invisible status symbols, sparking a lifelong curiosity about scent and human behavior.
Unable to afford expensive fragrances, the author hustled to earn money, eventually buying Bulgari Black, which deepened their passion.
The mystery of how scents work led the author to study neuroscience, focusing on olfaction, despite many unanswered questions in the field.
At Google Brain, the author led a team using AI to map molecular origins of smell, resulting in the Principal Odor Map.
This research became the foundation for Osmo, a company aiming to digitize scent, with projects like creating new fragrances and 'Scent Teleportation.'
The author reflects on how their childhood obsession shaped their career, advocating for supporting young nerds' passions.

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