You're speaking from experience?

[Vinayaka]

A child decides he hates a certain food, even though he's never tasted this food. A person criticizes a certain religious practice, even though he/she has never done the practice.

Why does the mind jump to these conclusions?

(In my faith, experience is the greatest teacher, and the world is the classroom.)

Ideas, comments, feedback welcome.

 

[JustGeorge]

A child decides he hates a certain food, even though he's never tasted this food. A person criticizes a certain religious practice, even though he/she has never done the practice.

Why does the mind jump to these conclusions?

(In my faith, experience is the greatest teacher, and the world is the classroom.)

Ideas, comments, feedback welcome.

In the case of food, sometimes the appearance of the food reminds the child of... something else.

When my oldest was young, we had a rule that he had to try one bite of things that was served. If he didn't like it, fine. He didn't have to eat any more. He was normally pretty good with it, but when I served African style peanut butter stew, he balked and carried on. Finally, he took his one bite, cringing.... and then all his muscles loosened, and his eyes got wide, and he said "I get it now! It just looks like ****! It tastes great!" It made us laugh too hard to worry about the swearing... (And its still a favorite meal for him.)

In that case, the food reminded him of feces. I think sometimes, when a person doesn't appreciate another's religious practice, its because it reminds them of something negative within their own worldview. "That's like a cult." "That seems like devil worship." "That seems like willful ignorance." "That seems oppressive." (etc, etc, etc...)

 

[Twilight Hue]

A child decides he hates a certain food, even though he's never tasted this food. A person criticizes a certain religious practice, even though he/she has never done the practice.

Why does the mind jump to these conclusions?

(In my faith, experience is the greatest teacher, and the world is the classroom.)

Ideas, comments, feedback welcome.

Probably comes from evolution. Taking risks when dealing with uncertainty and the unknown.

 

[Heyo]

A child decides he hates a certain food, even though he's never tasted this food. A person criticizes a certain religious practice, even though he/she has never done the practice.

Why does the mind jump to these conclusions?

(In my faith, experience is the greatest teacher, and the world is the classroom.)

Ideas, comments, feedback welcome.

It is one of the most advanced tools in the human arsenal that we can learn from watching others or sometime even by imagining. I don't have to experience how it feels to wrestle a porcupine.

 

[exchemist]

A child decides he hates a certain food, even though he's never tasted this food. A person criticizes a certain religious practice, even though he/she has never done the practice.

Why does the mind jump to these conclusions?

(In my faith, experience is the greatest teacher, and the world is the classroom.)

Ideas, comments, feedback welcome.

False analogy.

Hating food is a reaction to its taste. (Or it could be to its appearance, possibly)

Criticism of a religious practice does not require that one knows what it feels like to do it.

 

[Quintessence]

Heuristics.

Folks make mental maps. If a new thing matches a certain disliked thing on the mental map, the reaction tends to be negative.

That's the psychological take, anyway.

There are others.

Some would tell the story of such reactions being indicative of past lives.

 

[Quintessence]

False analogy.

Hating food is a reaction to its taste. (Or it could be to its appearance, possibly)

Criticism of a religious practice does not require that one knows what it feels like to do it.

I'm a bit confused by this. Could you unpack it a bit more? Maybe with a specific example?

 

[Valjean]

A child decides he hates a certain food, even though he's never tasted this food. A person criticizes a certain religious practice, even though he/she has never done the practice.

Why does the mind jump to these conclusions?

Only the former was jumped to. The latter could be a legitimate criticism, based on logic, objective evidence or verifiable observations.

(In my faith, experience is the greatest teacher, and the world is the classroom.)
Ideas, comments, feedback welcome.

Teacher of what?
Everyone has experiences, yet they believe wildly different things. So, unless we're talking about something other than objective reality, experience is not a reliable teacher.

 

[Stevicus]

A child decides he hates a certain food, even though he's never tasted this food. A person criticizes a certain religious practice, even though he/she has never done the practice.

Why does the mind jump to these conclusions?

(In my faith, experience is the greatest teacher, and the world is the classroom.)

Ideas, comments, feedback welcome.

At least going back to my own memories about foods I didn't like, I think at first, I would try things that were introduced to me. However, a few times of not liking something might have caused me to be more wary of what I put in my mouth. Also, I reached a point where there were things I really did like a lot, so I gravitated towards things I did like while being a bit reluctant to try new things.

I think this might have frustrated my parents, since there were times when I was kind of a fussy eater, but from my point of view, I got it in my head that adults must like everything they eat. That ended one time when we were out and my aunt said "no relish," and I was surprised to find that people were actually allowed to not like something and actually say it out loud. I would always get yelled at anytime I criticized or expressed I didn't like the food. As a result, dinnertime was always a bit stressful for me. In fact, I still get uncomfortable when I'm eating in the presence of other people, unless it's a truck stop or fast food where nobody cares if you don't have refined table manners.

 

[Audie]

A child decides he hates a certain food, even though he's never tasted this food. A person criticizes a certain religious practice, even though he/she has never done the practice.

Why does the mind jump to these conclusioni know exactlybwhy imdontbtrst s?

(In my faith, experience is the greatest teacher, and the world is the classroom.)

Ideas, comments, feedback welcome.

I know exactly why I don't trust men.

 

[JustGeorge]

unless it's a truck stop or fast food where nobody cares if you don't have refined table manners.

You'd be fine to eat over here...

A truck stop seems refined compared to average table manners with our bunch...

After three picky kids, one of which was OCD spurred and required medication(poor kid was hallucinating and seeing bugs in his food), another of which was autism related, anything goes. Mustard, hot sauce and lettuce sandwich? Sure. Chocolate sauce on rice? Whatever. Want to pace back and forth while you eat that sandwich? Go for it. Just eat.

The only rule anymore is soup and ice cream require a spoon(unless its an ice cream cone). Other than that, knock yourself out.

 

[Stevicus]

You'd be fine to eat over here...

A truck stop seems refined compared to average table manners with our bunch...

After three picky kids, one of which was OCD spurred and required medication(poor kid was hallucinating and seeing bugs in his food), another of which was autism related, anything goes. Mustard, hot sauce and lettuce sandwich? Sure. Chocolate sauce on rice? Whatever. Want to pace back and forth while you eat that sandwich? Go for it. Just eat.

The only rule anymore is soup and ice cream require a spoon(unless its an ice cream cone). Other than that, knock yourself out.

That would definitely make meals far less stressful. I just recalled a time back when I was at a family dinner, and I was cutting meat with the knife in my right hand, while holding the fork in my left hand, spearing the meat, and then eating it. My mom practically had a meltdown. "What are you doing eating with your left hand?" My dad chimed in "He thinks he's in Europe," and my mom said "We don't eat like that in America" or something to that effect. I didn't know anything about how they ate in Europe. It just seemed more logical to do it that way, rather than constantly switching hands between the knife and the fork.

When it was just my dad and brother and I, it was different, but whenever I was in some kind of formal or semi-formal situation (or whenever I was with my mom or step-mom), I would feel a mild form of panic that I'm going to make some kind of mistake.

 

[JustGeorge]

That would definitely make meals far less stressful. I just recalled a time back when I was at a family dinner, and I was cutting meat with the knife in my right hand, while holding the fork in my left hand, spearing the meat, and then eating it. My mom practically had a meltdown. "What are you doing eating with your left hand?" My dad chimed in "He thinks he's in Europe," and my mom said "We don't eat like that in America" or something to that effect. I didn't know anything about how they ate in Europe. It just seemed more logical to do it that way, rather than constantly switching hands between the knife and the fork.

When it was just my dad and brother and I, it was different, but whenever I was in some kind of formal or semi-formal situation (or whenever I was with my mom or step-mom), I would feel a mild form of panic that I'm going to make some kind of mistake.

I told my oldest son at some point(when he was still quite young) that in some parts of the world, people don't use silverware, but rather eat with their hands, though it was considered very bad manners to eat with your left hand. He didn't appear to be listening too closely; I was wrong.

I sent him to school one morning with his home made lunch, and saw all the spoons were dirty. I told him to just ask the lunch lady, she'd give him a spork. When he came home from school, I asked how his interaction with the lunch lady went. Silence. "You didn't ask her? What did you do then?" Pause. "Don't worry, Mom! I didn't use my left hand!"

I'm not sure I'd thrive in an overly formal eating situation... I guess I could put up with it, and I have before, but I don't really enjoy it. Honestly, I prefer eating at home.

 

[Stevicus]

I told my oldest son at some point(when he was still quite young) that in some parts of the world, people don't use silverware, but rather eat with their hands, though it was considered very bad manners to eat with your left hand. He didn't appear to be listening too closely; I was wrong.

I sent him to school one morning with his home made lunch, and saw all the spoons were dirty. I told him to just ask the lunch lady, she'd give him a spork. When he came home from school, I asked how his interaction with the lunch lady went. Silence. "You didn't ask her? What did you do then?" Pause. "Don't worry, Mom! I didn't use my left hand!"

I'm not sure I'd thrive in an overly formal eating situation... I guess I could put up with it, and I have before, but I don't really enjoy it. Honestly, I prefer eating at home.

I've heard of similar cultural prohibitions against eating with the left hand, although I haven't really studied that particular topic too deeply. I'm actually right-handed, but I used my right hand to cut, while holding the fork didn't really require as much strength or control as needed to hold the knife.

 

[Valjean]

I've heard of similar cultural prohibitions against eating with the left hand, although I haven't really studied that particular topic too deeply. I'm actually right-handed, but I used my right hand to cut, while holding the fork didn't really require as much strength or control as needed to hold the knife.

In India you clean your bum with your left hand after toileting, so it's traditionally considered unclean.

 

[Vinayaka]

False analogy.

Hating food is a reaction to its taste. (Or it could be to its appearance, possibly)

Criticism of a religious practice does not require that one knows what it feels like to do it.

I took mangoes to my class of Grade 4s, on more than one occasion. Despite some knowing about mangoes, and liking them, and others tasting them and going "Oh, Wow!", there would always be a few who would still absolutely refuse.

But yes, there are many situations in life, and experiencing it or not does vary a lot from situation to situation.

 

[Vinayaka]

It is one of the most advanced tools in the human arsenal that we can learn from watching others or sometime even by imagining. I don't have to experience how it feels to wrestle a porcupine.

Oh for sure some experiences are obvious through observation. Thanks for pointing that out. Others, not so much.

 

[Twilight Hue]

You'd be fine to eat over here...

A truck stop seems refined compared to average table manners with our bunch...

After three picky kids, one of which was OCD spurred and required medication(poor kid was hallucinating and seeing bugs in his food), another of which was autism related, anything goes. Mustard, hot sauce and lettuce sandwich? Sure. Chocolate sauce on rice? Whatever. Want to pace back and forth while you eat that sandwich? Go for it. Just eat.

The only rule anymore is soup and ice cream require a spoon(unless its an ice cream cone). Other than that, knock yourself out.

Now I'm thinking Green eggs and ham.
I am, I am...

 

[Heyo]

In India you clean your bum with your left hand after toileting, so it's traditionally considered unclean.

Not only in India. That's basically the same in all Muslim countries.

 

[JustGeorge]

Now I'm thinking Green eggs and ham.
I am, I am...

Well, just green eggs in this house. We're vegetarians(we do eat eggs).

I learned to bake in my early teens, and baked myself a lot of cakes. My sisters used to get into them, and that would really **** me off...

I started using green food coloring to dye the cakes green, and I told them the cakes were moldy. That worked to keep them out of them.

I was such an oddball, they believed I'd eat moldy cake...