Through tastings with the miracle berry, the Unexpected Associations exercise helped me see how expectations can influence and supersede logical thinking and how quick cognitive associations can be accepted and trusted.
Having read the article about the miracle berry beforehand, I was very excited to try it for myself. What was the basis of that excitement? I anticipated that I would enjoy the experience and that the experience would be new; the two expectations probably heightened each other. Not too surprising. But that anticipation and expectation manifested its power when I was tasting the vinegar. Disclaimer: the miracle berry did not change the taste of vinegar for me. However, there were hints from the professor that the taste would be mind-blowingly different. I went to take a big gulp and started tearing up as the still very much sour vinegar burned down my throat. The strange thing was the expectation of change. After a few minutes, I went back to taste the vinegar hoping that the miracle berry would kick in. Against my logical thinking, I continued to believe that the miracle berry would work. It would be interesting to explore how that conviction was constructed with such strength.
The lemon tasting brought to light another quality of cognition. Thankfully, the miracle did work on the lemon, transforming the normally bitter citrus fruit into a still a slightly sour but very much sweeter lemon drop. Associations of sourness, puckered lips, and a quickly-swallowed cup of water and lemon were replaced by associations of sweetness, lemonade, popsicles, and camp. It was amazing how quick I was accustomed to the new quality; I began planning pairings that would go well with this new taste. The sweet lemon became the reality and was a platform that I could trust and jump off for new ideas. With two or three tastes, I trusted this change. An understanding of the bitter lemon that was accumulated over 26 years was suspended after 5 seconds. Would I adapt to any new reality this quickly? What if gravity was suspended, would I be convinced to jump off a cliff and soar over the valleys below?
Yet, despite the positive associations with this sweet lemon, I don’t think that I would have continued to enjoy the new reality if all lemons tasted this way for a year. The effect disappeared before I got tired of the taste but there was a loyalty to the original taste. There is a preference for natural, even if that meant a less conventionally pleasing taste.
The experience was an interesting experience and brought to light new observations and behaviors, challenging myself to find out why my mind worked this way.