The Search For Enlightenment

A splendid time was had by all at the Thai Restaurant in the old town in Poole tonight. This was much to my relief, as we were all there on my recommendation, although I have to admit it was a pretty safe bet, the food, service, setting, everything is always first class.

Obviously, with Jill’s mobility issues, it was also a good choice, very close to the hotel, no hills or steps, apart from the one at the front door, almost perfect. But the physical attributes of the restaurant weren’t the only consideration.

Jill also suffers from a marked lack of taste. No, she doesn’t wear strange colour combinations, like psychedelic blouses with a flamingo pink feather boa, she just cannot taste much of the food she eats.

It serves to remind us, that the world out there, is only made manifest to us because our senses link it to our inner consciousness. Take away those links, be that sight, hearing, touch, or in Jill’s case taste, and the reality is altered.

So to make up for the dulled nature of her taste senses, she tends to eat more spicy food, and hence the choice of a Thai restaurant. It is interesting however, that she can tell whether a tea or coffee tastes nice or not, so there is a neurological element to the problem.

This all lead us to wondering whether there is a taste equivalent to colour blindness, flavour blindness if you will, where the taste of food is different for each individual. There is a degree of evidence that supports this. Some people love really hot curries, me being one of them, others cannot stand anything hotter than a korma.

Suffice to say, not only did we have a very nice meal and a very enjoyable evening, but Jill also enjoyed having some tasty food, and we stretched the boundaries of science a little by discovering taste blindness. All in all a great night out.