Feel the Flavours

Synesthesia. One sense kicking another sense into action. Could our senses be tricking us? Could our beliefs or expectation interfere with what we sense exactly at a specific moment? According to scientific research, our brains tricks us all the time. An experiment was conducted where participants were asked to state the flavor of different colored m&m’s. Most gave different answers according to the color, for example, the green that corresponded with the flavor of lime. However, the truth was the all the m&m’s tasted the same except for the orange ones. This clearly suggests that because our brains are set to expect that different colors correspond with different flavors, we start to believe it, which causes us to “taste” different flavors. In this example, the senses of sight come into play together to enhance the sweetness of the chocolate.

Personally, I like very crispy textures. From my memory, I perceive crispy or crunchy foods to represent freshness. When I get sick, I realize that I lose my appetite. This is because when we taste, our taste buds and the sense of smell work together to “taste” the food in the mouth. Therefore, when I lose my sense of smell due to sicknesses, I find that I lose my appetite because the flavors of the foods are not completely enhanced, and so all I can experience is the texture of the substance on my tongue.

We rely on our sense of sight so much, that it amazes me how much our sight can influence our decision regardless of what our taste buds and scent tell us. It makes me wonder, if we are constantly deceived by our senses, how will we ever know what is right or wrong? What is true and what is false? Is what we see or taste or hear always what we really see or feel or taste? Or merely things we WANT and EXPECT to see, feel, and taste? As much as this article interested me, as I start to think more about this concept of knowing, the more lost I feel. Will I ever get a clear answer to what knowledge is?  Or will it always be a mixture of senses, beliefs, emotions, and perception?

Ways of Knowing

In class, we studied on the various ways of “knowing”. We were given an article, which explored a contradictory act of the Japanese visiting a war shrine from WWII, which raised a conflict between the Chinese and Korean versus the Japanese. While reading the article, we were encouraged to think about how each side of the dispute “knew” that they were right according to factors such as their emotions on the situation, their memory of ancestors, and perception from their point of view.

My group decided to perform a talk show where I played the representative of Korea and Sean played the role of representing Japan. From Korea’s standpoint, I emphasized the mockery we felt and the disturbance that we felt to see Japan honoring their soldiers who killed our ancestors. I also depicted the fact that from what we remember, it was our families and grandparents who got killed and attacked by the men in the war shrine. Japan, on the other hand, argued that they were only paying respect to their “heroes” and the people who sacrificed themselves for their nation. Of course, it would only be appropriate that Korea felt offended and perceive Japan as the "villain", while I also understand Japan's pride in their ancestors and their sacrifice. I now understand that "knowing" is usually combination of so many factors, in this case, emotions, logic, and memory. 

Through this activity and watching other groups also present, I could physically watch the way people use multiple ways to portray their knowledge. I realized that sometimes, we don’t need a tangible or visible object or proof to be certain of something. Sometimes, it is possible to know through what we feel and the strong emotions that we experience. This led me to think back about my religion. Had I ever seen God physically? No. Can I feel his presence physically? No. Can I hear him with my ears? No. But I know that God exists because I believe. This is where knowledge through faith comes in play in my life, and although it is difficult for me to grasp the idea that this is a factor of “knowing”, I am relieved to know that “faith” is a legitimate reason to know.

Sightless Experience

As the sightless person with the blindfold over my eyes, I felt so vulnerable and doubtful about everything. I was anxious to move, because I did not fully trust my guide, and I couldn’t physically tell where I was heading. The whole time, I was so frustrated because I couldn’t be certain about every inch of my movement, and I felt very helpless and uncomfortable. Every time I was told to walk, I would take the smallest steps possible to avoid any possible trips. I was definitely afraid to walk at my normal pace, as I knew I would run into something and get injured. The most difficult part that I experience blind was coming down from a large stone. Getting up was easier than I thought, because all I had to do was take large steps, however when coming down from the stone, it almost feel as if I was falling from great height. I could not imagine the distance from the peak of the stone to the ground; therefore I felt very insecure and hesitated a lot. While walking around, I could vaguely set up a mental picture of the courtyard. Therefore, it was not difficult to imagine the direction I was headed for. For example, after the task of walking over a metal rail, I could imagine the courtyard in accordance to the position of the rail. I think that if this task was done at a completely new place, it would be much more difficult, as we wouldn’t have ANY knowledge about the place we’re walking in. In addition to the audio sense, I used my hands and legs to feel the surfaces and the textures surrounding me.

As the guide, I felt a great load of responsibility of being as precise as possible in making sure the blind would not get injured. Every time my partner bumped into something, I felt so sorry and a guilt that made me anxious about my words. Even though my partner followed instructions well, I became frustrated when they struggled to walk in straight lines on flat ground.  I could tell that even though my partner trusted my words, and me, he was still doubtful about his movements and placements of his limbs. He was always very cautious and extra careful even when I assured him, which further proves how dependent we are on our sight. I assume that my partner felt somewhat comfortable in the courtyard, just because he was familiar with the surroundings. However, imagine how long it would take and how vulnerable and doubtful he would feel about every inch of a step he took if he had to walk to the other side of the campus without sight!

I realised how restrained we are when we cannot see. Not only can we not detect what is in front of us, but also we are forced to be extremely aware of our surroundings and every muscle we move. Although I believe that sight may sometimes be deceiving, being able to see is an essential part of reassurance in our beliefs and knowledge.