I may not be turning my attention to it all the time, but like my left foot, there it is whenever I do.
When you do turn your attention to it, what is it like? Could you try to describe it in a way that would be useful for someone who does not experience it? For example,
Smell is a sensation, distinct from others like sight and sound. It detects particles in the air using the nose, and if you hold your nose than you mostly stop experiencing smell. Air in different places will smell differently. Smell emanates from certain objects, like wet socks or foods, and spreads out through the air. There are very many distinct smells; for example I can tell if popcorn is nearby from the smell, and I don’t think I’ve ever confused the smell of popcorn for anything else. While color can easily be separated into components (e.g. RGB), I’m not aware of any nice separation like that for smells. Smells can be pleasant or unpleasant: flowers really do smell good sometimes, and a smell can be so bad that it makes you feel nauseous and is painful to experience. People mostly agree on what smells are pleasant or unpleasant. If I enter a place with a different smell, I’ll tend to notice it immediately, then adjust to it and stop noticing it, unless it is particularly strong. I don’t recall ever having smelled something in a dream.
I’m asking because there is more than one thing that I have experienced that could be what you are describing, and I’m not yet sure which of these things you are trying to refer to, or if you’re referring to something else which I have not experienced and I’m a p-zombie.
When you do turn your attention to it, what is it like? Could you try to describe it in a way that would be useful for someone who does not experience it? For example,
I’m asking because there is more than one thing that I have experienced that could be what you are describing, and I’m not yet sure which of these things you are trying to refer to, or if you’re referring to something else which I have not experienced and I’m a p-zombie.