Cinema audiences reproducibly vary the chemical composition of air during films | Hacker News Reader

Cinema audiences reproducibly vary the chemical composition of air during films

nature.com

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TL;DR: our body emits different chemicals according to our humor, including while we're watching a movie.

> TL;DR: our body emits different chemicals according to our humor, including while we're watching a movie.

So that's what people mean when they say I smell funny?

Humor also means mood in English. It's more obvious to speakers of Romance languages (e.g. Portuguese).

And creates confusion for English speakers learning Romance languages!

It did originally refer to a bodily fluid, which is where the psychological meanings come from: http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=humor

These event-type synchronous, broadcasted human chemosignals open the possibility for objective and non-invasive assessment of a human group response to stimuli by continuous measurement of chemicals in air.

I don't agree that this isn't invasive. In fact, based on the current heated discussions going on regarding societal and corporate responsibilities around privacy, I don't believe I'm in the minority on this one.

"Invasive" here is a term of medical art, referring specifically to entry into the body. Sampling exhaled VOCs in free air is thus non-invasive in the medical sense.

I know, it's a play on words on my part. But it is, let's say, "culturally" invasive.

So what would be really interesting is if we could drive the study in the other direction.

Namely, does watching a movie with a large group of people make a funny movie funnier, or a scary movie scarier than if you were watching Netflix in the living room alone? Does the airborne composition cue or prime an emotional response?

This makes me think of John Oliver's last segment about science publications that show up in the media.

How long before this tech ("Sniff-o-Vision"?) is utilized to gather unconscious feedback in focus groups - or political rallies?

However long it takes to go from academic proof of concept to commercial product, and not a minute longer.

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