Naked Science Forum
General Science => General Science => Topic started by: Eric A. Taylor on 06/11/2009 10:07:14
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While at a party recently I was enjoying myself in a game with friends. As I was a designated driver I was drinking Coke while my friend was drinking a beer. By mistake I grabbed his can and took a swallow thinking it was Coke. It tasted awful! I love beer (we take turns as DD's) but this taste of very excellent beer was horrible. I'm wondering why my brain took something I normally like and gave me such a negative reaction to it. I was expecting something sweet and got something bitter instead. What does this have to do with my enjoyment factor. Was the beer extra bittler due to my mouth being used to sweet?
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Did you look at the beer's expiration date? [;)]
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In terms of sensory acclimation, when we look at brightness, it seems very bright until we become accustomed to it and, vice versa, we cannot see well when going from brightness to typical lighting. In both cases, we feel “blind”. Several optical illusions involve so-called “after images”.
This has quite a bit more to do with how the eye works rather than how the brain scenes light. In your retina are chemicals that react to light. They need to be refreshed several times a second. This is why the flickery picture on your TV or in a motion picture looks like smooth movement.
These chemicals can also become tired from seeing a lot of light, such as summer daylight, so when you walk into a darker room you can't see for a few seconds the chemicals are bleached by high light levels and need some time to reset. The pupil dilates or contracts very quickly and makes little difference here. The same is true if going from dark to light. The light hurts until the photo-chemicals in your eye can adjust.
This can be very bad when driving. Your eye is not adapted to rapid changes because humans have been moving quickly for such a short time. If driving where there are rapid changes from light and dark (along a tree lined street say) great care needs to be taken because you can't see as well. Also great care should be taken when walking in such areas. car drivers may not see you in time to avoid hitting you. I know from personal experience that being hit by a car really hurts...more than being bitten by Charley.
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I am vegan, and sometimes, when people try my soya milk they think it tastes funny. I think it's really more what they're used to tasting and are looking for a replica rather than judging a whole new product, and usually find it inferior (since it has a lot less saturated fat than the milk they are used to) to cows milk. I made chocolate and orange cookies the other day though and nobody complained [:)]