Here’s an interesting thought, I think,
It has to do with food and drink.
A group just studied some pairs of smells
Like pizza and wood on olfactory cells. *
And what they found I know you’d guess
A hungry fellow, I must confess,
Will follow his nose to cinnamon buns
That waft their smell into the street
And lure him in for a sweet treat.
Sometimes he’ll walk; sometimes he’ll run,
Until the food is on his tongue.
And then, it seems, his sense will change;
He’ll broaden his olfactory range.
He’ll sense some cedar and maybe more,
Enough to pass the bakery door.
“I know,” you say. ‘What’s new in this?
“A hungry lad finds food a bliss.”
“Yes,” I say, “that’s true, indeed,
“But it says something about our need.”
“What’s that?” you ask, without concern.
“There’s nothing new for me to learn.”
“Well, first and foremost, it makes the nose
“The avenue to foods we chose.
“It’s why some are fat and others, trim;
“Why some seem fit without the gym.”
“But that makes sense ‘cause foods have smells
“That ring our nerves like little bells.
“The chimes that clang inside our heads
“Are Sirens’ call, ‘Come eat sweetbreads.’
“I still see nothing new in this;
“A hungry lad finds food a bliss,
“And everyone has fav’rite food
“A smell and taste for every mood.”
“But there’s a larger lesson here,
“One I’ll whisper in your ear.
“It has to do with how we think
“In Either/Ors, not food or drink.
“When we are hungry for a change,
“We don’t decide; we prearrange.
“Just as we know the smell of bread
“That wafts into our hungry head,
“We also know a favored choice,
“It calls to us like Sirens’ voice.
“Our history primes us for decision,
“Ideas are bakeries of provision;
“The choice is either what we know,
“The ideology on which we grow,
“The foods of thought that we’ve consumed,
“The diet of what is now presumed,
“Or something else, a stranger dish,
“For which the nose has no wish.
“We often choose the foods we love,
“And thoughts that fit us ‘like a glove,’
“That’s why our choices are the same,
“Regardless of that which we proclaim
“About our freedom to think anew,
“To order from a strange menu.
“It’s hard to break old food traditions,
“Or ideological positions.
“The bakery smells that draw us in
“Are like some inner driving auxin
“That roots a smell deep in our brain
“Or ties us to ideas arcane.
”When we are full and satiated,
“Then bakery’s smell is quite abated;
“The lure is lost; we tire of food,
“We once longed for because of mood.
“Old appetites are as hard to lose
“As are our faulty former views.”
“It seems to me that you believe
“That all of us are quite naive,
“Thinking that the way we thought,
“Is always how we should and ought,
“And only when we can’t eat more,
“Do we walk past the bakery store.”
“Yes, that’s when we think anew
“And bid our old views fond adieu.
“The lesson’s simple, the mind gets trained,
“The ideas baked within our brain
“Are why we choose a steady diet
“Instead of thoughts that will disquiet.”
*Northwestern University. 26 Aug. 2021. Your sense of smell may be the key to a balanced diet. Phys.org. Online at https://phys.org/news/2021-08-key-diet.html. Accessed August 27, 2021.
It has to do with food and drink.
A group just studied some pairs of smells
Like pizza and wood on olfactory cells. *
And what they found I know you’d guess
A hungry fellow, I must confess,
Will follow his nose to cinnamon buns
That waft their smell into the street
And lure him in for a sweet treat.
Sometimes he’ll walk; sometimes he’ll run,
Until the food is on his tongue.
And then, it seems, his sense will change;
He’ll broaden his olfactory range.
He’ll sense some cedar and maybe more,
Enough to pass the bakery door.
“I know,” you say. ‘What’s new in this?
“A hungry lad finds food a bliss.”
“Yes,” I say, “that’s true, indeed,
“But it says something about our need.”
“What’s that?” you ask, without concern.
“There’s nothing new for me to learn.”
“Well, first and foremost, it makes the nose
“The avenue to foods we chose.
“It’s why some are fat and others, trim;
“Why some seem fit without the gym.”
“But that makes sense ‘cause foods have smells
“That ring our nerves like little bells.
“The chimes that clang inside our heads
“Are Sirens’ call, ‘Come eat sweetbreads.’
“I still see nothing new in this;
“A hungry lad finds food a bliss,
“And everyone has fav’rite food
“A smell and taste for every mood.”
“But there’s a larger lesson here,
“One I’ll whisper in your ear.
“It has to do with how we think
“In Either/Ors, not food or drink.
“When we are hungry for a change,
“We don’t decide; we prearrange.
“Just as we know the smell of bread
“That wafts into our hungry head,
“We also know a favored choice,
“It calls to us like Sirens’ voice.
“Our history primes us for decision,
“Ideas are bakeries of provision;
“The choice is either what we know,
“The ideology on which we grow,
“The foods of thought that we’ve consumed,
“The diet of what is now presumed,
“Or something else, a stranger dish,
“For which the nose has no wish.
“We often choose the foods we love,
“And thoughts that fit us ‘like a glove,’
“That’s why our choices are the same,
“Regardless of that which we proclaim
“About our freedom to think anew,
“To order from a strange menu.
“It’s hard to break old food traditions,
“Or ideological positions.
“The bakery smells that draw us in
“Are like some inner driving auxin
“That roots a smell deep in our brain
“Or ties us to ideas arcane.
”When we are full and satiated,
“Then bakery’s smell is quite abated;
“The lure is lost; we tire of food,
“We once longed for because of mood.
“Old appetites are as hard to lose
“As are our faulty former views.”
“It seems to me that you believe
“That all of us are quite naive,
“Thinking that the way we thought,
“Is always how we should and ought,
“And only when we can’t eat more,
“Do we walk past the bakery store.”
“Yes, that’s when we think anew
“And bid our old views fond adieu.
“The lesson’s simple, the mind gets trained,
“The ideas baked within our brain
“Are why we choose a steady diet
“Instead of thoughts that will disquiet.”
*Northwestern University. 26 Aug. 2021. Your sense of smell may be the key to a balanced diet. Phys.org. Online at https://phys.org/news/2021-08-key-diet.html. Accessed August 27, 2021.
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