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Ant smell (mander.xyz)
submitted 2 years ago by to c/science_memes@mander.xyz
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[–] 80 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (15 children)

“What’s your mutation? Teleportation? Laser Eyes? Weaponized Tornadoes?”

“…I… I can smell ants... how about yours?”

“Oh… well… my mutation is that cilantro tastes like chalk to me.”

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  • [–] 30 points 2 years ago

    I was born with 2.5 kidneys, an extra ureter and 4 of my permanent teeth never showed up. Also mild colour vision deficiency.

    I was talking about it with our first lieutenant in the army and he went "Corporal, you're a mutant!". "Yes, sir, I am sir."

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  • [–] 9 points 2 years ago* (13 children)

    God soap cilantro just sucks. I really wish people knew it tastes like gross to like 3-21% of the world population.

    I just wish it wasn't automatically in anything Mexican. I just want to taste what other people taste. :(

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  • [–] 5 points 2 years ago (10 children)

    Exposure therapy works for this. You can still detect the chemical that made it taste that way, but the brain can rewire to perceive it as pleasant. If you’re serious about fixing the problem, start by adding small amounts to dishes and work your way up as your tolerance changes.

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  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago (8 children)

    That just sounds like brainwashing yourself to make something taste 'good' when it's not. See Alcohol, black coffee, etc.

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  • [–] 6 points 2 years ago

    Right, but I legitimately love the taste of coffee now. Am I wrong? I know I didn't like it as a kid, but does that mean I was correct to not like it then or correct to like it now?

    I don't know, but my instinct is that being able to enjoy the flavor of coffee is a real benefit. For instance, I can taste the nuance of coffee flavor in tiramisu. Without gaining an appreciation for coffee flavor, many foods that use that flavor would just taste bad.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago (5 children)

    There are no inherently good or bad flavours, it’s all just how our brains are wired to perceive them. Sometimes the wiring gets it wrong and warns us about a food that is harmless. I see no reason not to try fixing that.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (4 children)

    There are no inherently good or bad flavours

    X is in the eye of the beholders are the worst.

    You can fool yourself into thinking shit tastes like sugar all you want but subjective reality and the reality your brain perceives should not be conflated lol.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago (3 children)

    Shit should taste bad though, given that it is bad for you to eat. This is not the case for cilantro, so why not retrain your brain to like it?

    All I was offering is a strategy that has worked for me, and many other people. I used to hate cilantro and despised its omnipresence in certain cuisines. I can now enjoy these things and you possibly can as well, if you choose to do the work. If you’d prefer to whine instead of attempting to solve the problem you said you have, that’s on you.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago* (2 children)

    If you’d prefer to whine instead of attempting to solve the problem

    Do you genuinely believe people who eat cilantro regularly haven't already naturally done what you've said... or did you genuinely think offering up exposure therapy to someone on Lemmy memeing about how shit cilantro tastes would be good genuine advice... then clutch your pearls despite everything I've typed so far lol?

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  • [–] 0 points 2 years ago

    I hadn’t tried exposure therapy and it worked for me. Naturally I want to share that. If you’ve really tried it and it didn’t work, that’s unfortunate, but that doesn’t invalidate the approach for everyone.

    Nobody’s clutching their pearls, I was just pointing out that I was trying to help and you’ve chosen to attack me. I’m sure you’ll continue to do so.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago*

    Those are more like your eyes adjusting to brightness/darkness. You're not tricking yourself into thinking the alcohol taste or coffee bitterness are good, you're desensitizing yourself to them, which lets you sense other flavors.

    Sometimes there's no other strong flavors so you get "Huh, this cold brew concentrate tastes like water, I didn't even add ice, try it" "wtf that is so bitter!!"

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