Something i can't understand

The other day me and the guys were out in a refinery doing some work. A chemical released and when i smelled it i thought it was pungent. One of the other guys thought it smelled good. This got me to thinking.





What something smells like doesn't change from person to person. The smell doesn't change but the perception of the smell changes. Take a pear for example. The pear is giving off a chemical and when we smell it we recognize that smell as a pear. What if someone thinks it stinks. The chemical emanating from the pear doesn't change but the perception of the smell does change.





What causes this. Why does different people smell the same thing and have different interpretations on the like or dislike of the smell.





It is the same way with sight. Two people can look at the same painting and one will like it and the other will not. Thomas Kincaid painting are a good example. Whether or not you like his painting depends on your preference of lights. You look at the painting and determine whether or not you like it. You can't do that with a smell can you?





Lets say you are doing a blind smell test. You are given a liquid to smell to determine if you like it or not. If they told you it was the puss secreted from a homosexual's penis who is infected with aids, you would probably hate the smell. If they told you it was some new botanical recently discovered in the Amazon, you would probably like the smell. Too me it would depend on the mental image you got to determine whether or not you liked the smell.





So lets say they gave you two jars to smell. They told you one was the puss and the other the botanical. Would you even smell the puss? Probably not because we judge a book by its cover.





Since we tend to judge things based on sight, look at the below photograph. I would like to know if you think this person grew up to be straight or homo. Pay close attention to the hair. Would that be considered butch?