The Transient Magic of Aroma

On Sunday I leaned over my bubbling thyme-glace sauce and took a deep breath. The smell was incredible, but I can't share it with you. Unlike digital cameras which can capture images with greater precision than my measly eye, or mp3s which can encode all of human hearing and beyond, we haven't made the slightest bit of progress in capturing and replicating aromas. Is this why I love my whisky collection so much?