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Making a case for Perception – The key to an enriched life experience | David Belo | TEDxBITSPilani


pick a piece of chocolate break a piece
off put it in your mouth let it melt
what is the number you can taste take
another piece of chocolate bring it up
to the nose what’s the color of its
aroma strange question to ask sure you
might be thinking or is this what is
taste and what is smell you know when we
taste something what we’re really doing
is perceiving a piece of chocolate for
example is made up of fat and fiber and
turn made up of micro and macro
nutrients in turn made up of particles
electrons quarks according to the
astrophysicists possibly made up of tiny
tiny strings vibrating at different
frequencies to constitute that thing
that we’re tasting in this case
chocolate you paste a piece of chocolate
we are delivering electric signals from
our sensory organ in this case our
tongue in our nasal passage up into the
brain which in turn gives us an
you have a problem oh my goodness right
okay so in my work as a food and
beverage professional the most important
part of my job is to make things that
with such a sort of benevolent goal the
answer is to make to it to imbue and and
buy pleasure into the world to give
people some joyful respite from the ups
and downs of life it’s it’s it’s a
process of of giving and receiving that
we really hope to this for five fleeting
minutes make you forget about what
happened at the office that morning or
wherever you happen to be before you
walked into a restaurant so great art is
often a call to presence and food and
drink is no exception from that if we
are not totally present when enjoying a
gourmet meal or a glass of wine from an
exemplary vintage we often miss the
magic presence is really the key to
getting the most not just out of art but
out of life in general it allows us to
take in and translate the full spectrum
tiny vibrating threads or whatever the
constituent parts of the manifest world
are I’d love my slides change that’s
supposed to be a statue I will be
present right so how do I go about
getting people to enjoy my work well I
mean I have options
we all have options I could have a big
gong and I could sound that gong in the
crucial moment of delivering a dish to
its intended receiver a customer or a
consumer but that’s not very practical
so we have to go about other way
is to imbibe and imbue joy into into our
creations so like most young boys I grew
up playing guitar my bedroom – a backing
track of punk records and so as to
legitimize my rebellious ways I went on
to study music in high school but it
wasn’t until later in life that I
started to study the harmonies of
Pythagoras which are used in classical
architecture these are the harmonies
that reflect nature and in the Classical
era were used for making art that was
resembling the harmonies of nature these
these harmonies can be found in our own
biology as well as in the plant kingdom
the mineral kingdom etc that’s not
actually Pythagoras that’s my mate Tom
doing his best Pythagoras impression so
when you take a piece of chocolate put
it in your mouth and let it melt what
you’re actually tasting recall the
texture is the ability of the chocolate
maker to manipulate pattern size
geometry through conching through
grinding through refining changes are
happening at the microscopic level which
we perceive pleasurable that’s why I say
in taste numbers but returning to the
theme of music when I started to study
the harmonies and ratios of Pythagoras
it occurred to me that music is not just
the art of sound it is in fact a
language I’d often say that music is how
maths sounds whereas geometry is how
maths looks and feels and we can
actually use maths to understand the
harmonic qualities in music so example
part the cadence the perfect cadence is
a ratio of two chords they two notes but
we’ll stick with two chords which create
a quality of grand ending you can’t see
it but you can feel it but when we use
maths you can read it
so the perfect cadence it starts with v
notes or chord or node
sorry a chord based on the fifth note in
the scale followed by the first note or
tonic I’m not talking by the type of
tonic that goes with gin we will get to
the cocktails in a second so in the key
of E the fifth note is B and the fifth
the fifth chord is B minor that’s in the
key of E minor rather and tonic is is a
minor but let’s hear how those sounds so
the Kia is when there is relationship my
wife will be very happy to hear that we
are better in relationship than as
individual parts so let’s hear them
so we have a sense of completion that
there’s a feeling here this harmony has
a message it says this song is now over
but this talk isn’t so stick with me
so in in food and drink we also look at
harmonies to deliver a quality of
experience so you tuber bound with a lot
of videos on something called sacred
numbers these are the numbers of the
proportions just found in the natural
world
for example PI 23 divided by 7 we have
the golden mean and the Fibonacci
sequence the Valachi sequence you can
see all sorts of theories and hypotheses
and studies on how these ratios are
found in monolithic buildings like the
Great Pyramids of Giza chichen itza the
Yucatan and even the Taj Mahal but it’s
not just buildings we can find these
natural harmonies or ratios in mixed
drinks for example the classic bartender
of the 19th century Jerry Thomas
professor Jerry Thomas published a drink
which he gave his name through the Jerry
Thomas Manhattan in his book the
bartenders guide in 1887
now Jerry used all sorts of very strange
terms for measurements that you know
there’s a lot of debate on today such as
chiggers ponies of wine glasses but
contemporary Scottish mixologist Gregor
the grata was known for her ailing nail
was known for having really nailed this
drink and he erase it the recipe and
ratios as follows
starting with 2500 rye 15 mold bit of
vermouth and 10 ml orange liqueur so
what’s the relationship what’s the ratio
between these ingredients Oh 15 divided
15/10 gives us 0.67 and we get a ratio
very close to the golden mean a ratio
found in our own biology and throughout
the natural world so let’s apply the
golden mean to Gregor’s recipe to get an
exact idea what it would have really
been like if he was using the golden me
so 25 times 0.618 as you can see on the
board there is fifteen point four five
millimeters only half a milliliter more
than Gregor’s recipe the subsequent
ratio 15 times point zero six one eight
equals nine point five five milliliters
that’s only half a milliliter less than
Gregor’s original recipe so you know the
difference between what was a practical
recipe and actually using absolute
sacred geometry or natural Harmony’s is
very close and the difference here will
hardly be discernable to any human
palates the Fibonacci sequence very
closely related to the golden mean one
two two three five eight and 13 and so
on each subsequent number the sum of the
previous two let’s see if we can find
this in some classic mixed drinks
before I do that who likes margaritas if
your parents were watching don’t worry
we had to expand the knowledge so the
classic margarita recipe one part lime
juice 1 part orange liqueur and two
parts good tequila good quality is
essential so one 1/2 the sidecar another
classic mixed drink one part lemon juice
1 part orange liqueur and two parts
brandy again 1 1 2 for Bonacci sequence
and the white lady one part lemon juice
1 part orange liqueur and two parts of
gin also a dash of egg whites for the
purists the daiquiri however Ernest
Hemingway’s favorite Cuban seaside
classic half part sugar one part lime
and two parts of rum this is a different
ratio 1/2 to 1 to 2 this is the binary
sequence you can also see the binary
sequence
and Don the beachcombers 1944 classic a
Maitai quarter part of rock candy syrup
1/2 a pint of orange liqueur and one
part of rum sorry one part of lime juice
and two parts of rum the binary sequence
is the same sequence that’s evidence in
how we begin life as a single cell in
our mothers we subdivide into the
trillions of cells that we are today so
what came first the numbers or great
taste
it’s my conclusion that actually we love
art that embodies the harmonies and the
ratios that were made from we so enjoy
art that features the patterns of our
own biology oh yes so I’ll ask you again
what happens when we taste are we
perhaps perfectly designed organisms
able to translate the possible many
vibrating strings of the manifest world
into experiences at least it may be
pleasure or displeasure we know for
example that music is experienced as a
result of vibrating waves in the air
vibrating tiny bones in our ears and
somehow we’re able to perceive an
orchestra reggaeton or gangsta rap so
what is preference where this preference
come from why is it that a collage of
frequencies vibrating tiny bones in the
ear can result in a pleasurable
experience for one person and yet be so
dissonant and displeasing to another is
it possible that when we sense frequency
and vibration that it is not just us
perceiving but in fact a collage a
mixture what’s out there and what’s in
here
is it possible then instead of just
perceiving reality we are in fact
greater than the sum of those parts of
what’s outside and inside now if I was
to give all of you wine journal you’d
find a rich vocabulary full of words
appealing are not necessarily apparent
there’s open skepticism from the
consumer when we hear of talk of dried
violets and charred oak in the context
of a glass of chardonnay and it’s led a
lot of people to believe that there’s a
lot of bluffing on the table but I would
suggest that maybe this difference
between perception Orbis familiar and a
consumer is in fact the result of the
latter’s ability to perceive more
vibration a musician will tell you that
through the practice of music they’re
able to hear more an artist will tell
you that they’re able to see more colors
on a given landscape again I say to you
they are they really hearing or seeing
or are they able to perceive more fuller
and consciously how do we know we’re not
all sensing all the subtle nuances of a
cup of speciality coffee well let me ask
you this when was the last time so an
x-ray one of the most fundamental
differences between the 19th century in
the 21st century is that we now know for
certain and for facts that we can’t
personally perceive through our senses
the full spectrum of Lights color so
what about the taste picture well it
hasn’t been invented yet still waiting
for it this picture behind me shows the
graphic representation of the sperm cell
on the Temple of Karnak in Egypt now how
did the Egyptians know the microscopic
appearance of a sperm cell without as
far as we know any microscopes surely
it’s as plausible or ridiculous to think
that they may have been able to perceive
directly through their senses
the microscopic world surely that’s as
plausible or as ridiculous as the idea
that they use the cows I as a microscope
as archaeologists have suggested and if
you’re not sure that that is what I’m
saying it is you’re free to go to the
karnak temple and see the uncropped
uncensored version for yourself so as we
employ technology further and further to
perceive and measure our reality at what
costs are we maybe subduing and dumbing
down our own senses of perception now as
valuable as those measurements are and
the technology that we use to perceive
and measure reality is are we really
moving forward on our evolutionary path
now I’m not saying that we should throw
all these measurements and tools away
but I am saying this if you like me you
were born before the 90s you might
remember a time when you can memorize at
least 15 phone numbers since the advent
of the smart phone I struggled to
remember my facebook password so
Pythagoras said I hear the sound of the
spheres I can hear the movement of the
celestial bodies is it possible that
true practice and attention we’re able
to perceive a richer fuller version of
this manifest world maybe other octaves
of this reality according to
astrophysicists we may be living in as
many as 11 dimensions of this reality
the last time you checked your facebook
status
you were only aware of three that’s 27
percent of what could be out there why
is this important because FOMO no one
so if I were to tell you that I could
see orbs and lights around your head you
know at best you smile politely and
maybe walk out the room best-case
scenario so I’m not gonna say that
but I’m gonna make the case for us
actually trying to develop our senses to
perceive more why what impact with
heightened perception have on ourselves
and our societies the city of Mysore
mysuru has been my adopted home for the
last six years it’s a city of rich with
heritage buildings that really embrace
and are sensitive to the harmonies and
balance of nature but sadly urine year
these sorts of buildings this approach
to design is being demolished in favor
of multi-layered match boxes and their
corresponding air conditioners you see
the winds of change are coming but we
won’t know about it because the windows
so what happens when we rely on
technology at the sake of ceasing to
enhance our abilities of perception how
does that influence social behavior for
example how does it influence the art
that such living escapes or urban
landscapes can produce we don’t have to
think too hard you know like the ever
oscillating geometries of a fractal it’s
often the case that in this harmonic
living escapes as I call them we see the
regurgitated expression of what is a
sense of the situation being expressed
in that art as opposed to a sense of who
we are underneath it all and the scary
thing is what happens when we accept
that status quo when we design build and
inhabit such living escapes the my home
city of Cape Town has a lot of suburbs
that were built in an era of the stain
supremacy
now the legislation has transformed
those neighborhoods pretty much still
look the same the difference however is
that younger and younger children are
becoming exposed to and imbibing
discordant behavior now there’s a lot of
factors for this and it’s a very complex
social subject but what I will say is
how can we expect anyone to appreciate
the harmonies of nature and the patterns
of the natural world and our connection
through them in an environment that
blocks every physical and every mental
evidence of those harmonies in such a
paradigm business becomes predatory as
opposed to being supportive in such a
paradigm ideologies compete as opposed
to working together to serve a peoples
or a community in such a paradigm
disciplines of study and thought
competes and assert themselves rather
than working together to add common
leaves on the tree of knowledge for all
of our benefits so what happens if we
were to live in a society where we were
actually trying to actively develop our
ability to decipher a broader sense of
reality what happens to our living
escapes what happens to our sense of
competence as we fully understand who we
are in our place in this collage of
atoms electrons and personalities I’ll
say this the practice of art if given
two consecutive generations as well as
the practice of economic independence
and intellectual independence which
maybe leads to the building and
development of far more inclusive
society where people are much more aware
of each other where they are and what
they’re doing I’ll just close with
saying there is so much that we know yet
so much and this yet to be discovered so
I will implore you to go out
as you have a right and the ability to
use your faculties of deciphering
reality of ever broaden to decipher and
ever broader sense of it and with that
change will happen naturally with
yourself and ultimately within your
[Applause] [Laughter]
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