The urge to expel yuck

I just had this wild thought. Sometimes these are brilliant epiphanies and sometimes they're nonsense. (Sometimes I never figure out which they are!)

All my life, I've been more likely than my peers to pick a bit of plant -- leaf or fruit, and taste it. And almost universally, when it was yucky, I wanted to hurl it away. I haven't really thought much about that impulse, but my first reaction is to assume it's a bit of masculine acculturation. But maybe not. What if it's a standard human impulse? When I pick a fruit and it's horrible -- like an unripe persimmon or crab-apple, I throw it into the woods or gully. Get it away! Then the seeds grow far away. But when I pick a fruit that's delectable, I take it home and maybe share it around my friend-group. When we discard the seed(s), we're at home and it can produce offspring in my zone-1 or -2.

What are the chances that impulse is deeply programmed in our genetics?

Honestly, I have no idea if other people do this, but if it's common, there could be something to this.

Christopher Weeks wrote:I just had this wild thought. Sometimes these are brilliant epiphanies and sometimes they're nonsense. (Sometimes I never figure out which they are!)

All my life, I've been more likely than my peers to pick a bit of plant -- leaf or fruit, and taste it. And almost universally, when it was yucky, I wanted to hurl it away. I haven't really thought much about that impulse, but my first reaction is to assume it's a bit of masculine acculturation. But maybe not. What if it's a standard human impulse? When I pick a fruit and it's horrible -- like an unripe persimmon or crab-apple, I throw it into the woods or gully. Get it away! Then the seeds grow far away. But when I pick a fruit that's delectable, I take it home and maybe share it around my friend-group. When we discard the seed(s), we're at home and it can produce offspring in my zone-1 or -2.

What are the chances that impulse is deeply programmed in our genetics?

Honestly, I have no idea if other people do this, but if it's common, there could be something to this.

That’s a really interesting thought! I think there could be some truth to it. Humans are wired to avoid bitter or unpleasant tastes because they can signal danger, so the urge to spit out or discard bad food may have a survival connection.

The seed-dispersal idea is fascinating too, though it’s hard to know if that’s an evolved purpose or just a side effect of our instincts. Either way, it’s a fun example of how biology can influence everyday behaviors.

Cindy Mortera wrote:....so the urge to spit out or discard bad food may have a survival connection.

The seed-dispersal idea is fascinating too, though it’s hard to know if that’s an evolved purpose or just a side effect of our instincts. Either way, it’s a fun example of how biology can influence everyday behaviors.

Our instincts are quite possibly the effect of evolution so these may be inseperable.  Even if done unconsciously, the removal of dangerous/poisonous seeds and plants far away while retaining tasteful/healthy seeds nearer to dwellings would result in keeping accidental ingestion of toxics more rare.  But stepping back even further, when we have behaviors that we find 'distasteful' or abhorrent, the psychological phenomenon of 'projection' (throw off elsewhere) comes into play where we 'disown' that behavior but locate it in others, quite frequently when 'others' do not even have those traits/behaviors.  So removl of toxics in many forms....not soiling the nest, discarding to remote areas bad food, psychological projection.....all in some way are attempts to reduce interfacing with such substances or entities in myriad ways.

I believe repulsion or revulsion is a studied thing ("disgust response" would probably be the term to search on), with both genetic and learned components. Relatedly, psychologists, and in particular those who study personality, have studied the degree to which people are driven by seeking purity, and how this spills over from feelings about food etc. and into feelings about society and other people. I believe it's one of the Big 5 Personality factors or something like that.