> if you took the optic nerve and attached it to another part of the neocortex, that part would become the visual region.
FYI, that is super hand-wavey and covers over a lot about how the path of the information from the cones/rods gets into V1. The chain of neurons that pass infomation from your eyes to V1 is well studied [0]. Interruptions in that path cause a lot of sightedness issues and are not fun diseases to have. The musician, Stevie Wonder, among others, aledgedly has a form of blindness known as blindsight [1] where relfexes to motion are perserved, but information is not passed into the conscious mind.
In the end, though neuroscience is a facinating subject, we're just in the beginning of our understanding of the brain. More research is needed.
Also relevant, though maybe deviating a bit from engineering: Principles of Neural Science by Kandel and Schwartz https://www.amazon.com/Principles-Neural-Science-Fifth-Kande...
This has never been a good proxy for truth. It is also completely irrelevant given that the majority of the world has never studied neuroscience.
>science has no idea what consciousness is
Not true. Neuroscience has discovered a lot about consciousness. I recommend Principles of Neural Science if you're interested: https://www.amazon.com/Principles-Neural-Science-Fifth-Kande...
>Plus, there are all kinds of problems and contradictions if the mind reduces to matter.
Yes, 'taste' is incredibly complicated and there are many elements to it, from texture, to smell, to temperature, to emotional state, to blood pressure, etc. We are still discovering what tastes humans actually possess and where they possess them in their bodies. What you are classifying as 'taste' is many things other than the definition of taste; you include smell and texture in the lists above. Especially on the bitter part, human sensation of bitter is highly variable from person to person. What you may consider bitter may not be able to be sensed by your customers and what you cannot sense may be tasted by your customers, hence why many confectioners tend towards a similar mean taste profile (pepsi/coke). You mention that things may 'taste like wood', this is a cultural association that you may want to be aware of. Try getting other people from other cultures/environments to drink your stuff and see if they also report these sensations. As far as 'drying out your mouth', this is again highly variable depending on hydration, humidity, personal preference, etc. For example, a friend of mine loves seltzer water for 'the burn', while I hate it for the exact same reason. I also drink my coffee black these days, but I will change my taste from time to time. Mostly I am just addicted to caffeine and coffee is the cheapest way to get the fix.
For more information on the sensation of taste and all it's myriad complexities, you may want to check out these resources:
FYI, that is super hand-wavey and covers over a lot about how the path of the information from the cones/rods gets into V1. The chain of neurons that pass infomation from your eyes to V1 is well studied [0]. Interruptions in that path cause a lot of sightedness issues and are not fun diseases to have. The musician, Stevie Wonder, among others, aledgedly has a form of blindness known as blindsight [1] where relfexes to motion are perserved, but information is not passed into the conscious mind.
In the end, though neuroscience is a facinating subject, we're just in the beginning of our understanding of the brain. More research is needed.
[0] https://www.amazon.com/Principles-Neural-Science-Fifth-Kande...
Principles of Neural Science, Fifth Edition (Principles of Neural Science (Kandel)) 5th Edition
https://www.amazon.com/Principles-Neural-Science-Fifth-Kande...
This has never been a good proxy for truth. It is also completely irrelevant given that the majority of the world has never studied neuroscience.
>science has no idea what consciousness is
Not true. Neuroscience has discovered a lot about consciousness. I recommend Principles of Neural Science if you're interested: https://www.amazon.com/Principles-Neural-Science-Fifth-Kande...
>Plus, there are all kinds of problems and contradictions if the mind reduces to matter.
Such as?
This is a good text, at an upper-div/grad level, of fundamental neuroscience with all sources cited.
That particular connection is straightforward to do in humans. A Golgi stain to the rector muscles/ON and dissection in cadavers would be sufficient to trace the reflex to the SC and then another Golgi stain to that area to get back to the optic nerve. I'm unfamiliar with the toxicity of Golgi stains, but it may be able to be done alive.
Also, the visual systems to the brain-stem are remarkably conserved through evolution. I would not be surprised to see this connection in lampreys. That any significant percent of humans lack it would be a hell of paper.
Blind individuals usually have these reflexes too (like Stevie Wonder): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blindsight
For more information on the sensation of taste and all it's myriad complexities, you may want to check out these resources:
https://www.amazon.com/Principles-Neural-Science-Fifth-Kande... The bible of neural sciences, though thick and dense, the sections on gustation and olfaction may prove useful to your endeavors.
Edit: Here are some other resources on how to modify your taste sensation to better understand how your taste buds work:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Taste_modifiers
There is also a supplement that you can take that will elliminate your sensation of sweet for a few hours, but I forget the name
Lastly, to understand umami, try getting a few bags of chips of similar salt content and hold your nose the entire time. One of just regular Lays potato chips, one of something like Doritos, and one of those baked Parmesan cheese ships from whole foods. While eating them with your nose held close, try to recognize the changes in the umami taste.