When you were a kid, what foods did you detest?
For me, some of these were cauliflower, cabbage and spinach. But I think the reason I hated those foods at that point, and wouldn’t even try them unless pressured, was presuppositions. A presupposition is a preconceived idea, an idea you already have in your head about something, and which affects your attitude toward it.
Nowadays I enjoy all three of these veggies. However, it’s NOT because I’m a grownup. And it’s not that my presuppositions have changed. What has changed are the presuppositions of food-preparers.
Back then, on the Great Plains, a cooks’ basic presupposition seemed to be: A vegetable is better when thoroughly boiled. They didn’t realize that cauliflower, cabbage and spinach, boiled to death, lose not only a lot of taste appeal, but a lot of nutrition.
But now food people–at least the ones in my life–realize that A vegetable is most nutritious and delicious in its natural state. Tonight (Sunday night), Shelley fixed me another of her gigantic salads (no spinach, but cauliflower and cabbage), and every one of the veggies was bite-sized and raw. She has this little mix of spices she sprinkles on it, and then a squeeze of lemon juice, and that’s all I needed. No other salad dressing was required.
Food aside, our presuppositions–the ideas we already believe about things–will determine our behavior. That is, unless we carefully examine those biases and see if they’re worthwhile any more. Try it out. I’ll bet you’ll be surprised!