There's a Tasty Q&A with Scientific American's Gareth Cook up on the SciAm website. It covers a range of issues, from the evolutionary origins of taste and smell to the future of flavor. And one of my favorite subjects, kids' weird tastes, which remain semi-inexplicable to scientists and despite the spectacular insights of the past generation:
Kids are, biologically speaking, weird creatures. Pickiness seems to be programmed by evolution: it would have protected small children from eating strange, possibly poisonous items. Certain preferences, meanwhile, can develop arbitrarily and become very strong, then suddenly fade – every kid goes through phases as the brain matures and the neural networks that shape perception and behavior grow. Each person’s sense of flavor is like a snowflake or a fingerprint, in this way, shaped by partly by genes, but largely by experience. And always changing as more meals are eaten.
If you have kids – or were, or are one, for that matter – you know what I'm talking about.
Kids are, biologically speaking, weird creatures. Pickiness seems to be programmed by evolution: it would have protected small children from eating strange, possibly poisonous items. Certain preferences, meanwhile, can develop arbitrarily and become very strong, then suddenly fade – every kid goes through phases as the brain matures and the neural networks that shape perception and behavior grow. Each person’s sense of flavor is like a snowflake or a fingerprint, in this way, shaped by partly by genes, but largely by experience. And always changing as more meals are eaten.
If you have kids – or were, or are one, for that matter – you know what I'm talking about.
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