One day at school we were all sitting outside the cafeteria with our lunch trays. The cafeteria was serving chicken chowmein so that is what some of the trays comprised of. Aaron from Grade 10 had only just tasted the noodles when he began to complain about how they are "so spicy." Maaham in response mildy stated, "this is the blandest thing ever." That may have been a slight exaggeration of course, but regardless of that, it showed how something that was exceedingly spicy to one could be insipid to another. So how do we decide whether the chowmein is actually either of those? Sense perception is entirely commensurate to the individual themselves so there is no definite answer. Had Aaron been the only one having the chowmein and stating that it is spicy, it may have influenced the rest of us to think that it is. However with Maaham's opinion in the mix, it left his statement questionable. Now they both do come from entirely different backgrounds. Pakistan is known for their spiced and seasoned food that Maaham is sure to have had, whereas Aaron as a European probably has not had it too often. Even from prior experience at this school I have had friends who are unable to eat at Pakistani/Indian restaurants because the food is too spicy for them. For us, it's really not. This is an illustration of how sense perception can be limited. It is definitely a way of knowing but what is true to ourselves only. Sense perception in this case of taste can be misleading because everyones' sense of taste is distinct.
