General Knowledgespeaking topic

A smell encountered for the first time is never forgotten; smell is the only sense wired directly into the brain's memory and emotion centers, older even than sight. The scent of a spice can teleport you thirty years back in a single second. Why is it a smell, and not an image, that punches through time like this?

neuroscience, smell and memory (the limbic system)

practice with this topic

Set the timer (5-30 min), take 20 seconds of prep if you like, start talking. Jot your thoughts onto the sticky-note board.