So now some researchers are trying to create a device that produces aromas while you're watching TV. This idea isn't entirely new—there was an attempt to do the same thing in movie theaters in the early 1960s. The failure of that enterprise suggests that smells may not enhance the viewing experience compellingly. At any rate, there's a longstanding question about whether film/TV viewing is really about realism at all—remember, many people, like Sergei Eisenstein, opposed adding sound to movies in the 1920s on the grounds that film aesthetics ought not to be be realistic. Of course, another possibility is that this is all just another attempt to thwart digital piracy by adding non-downloadable enrichment to entertainment products.
Weird Al Yankovic offers some thoughts:
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