Haiku: Ouch

Second degree burn

On the roof of my mouth, yo

No “hot plate” warning

—

You remember, in the 90s, when that woman sued McDonald’s for the coffee being too hot and we all thought it was ridiculous litigiousness?

Well, it took 30 years, but I can finally empathize with her plight. Got a second-degree burn on the roof of my mouth from oven-fresh spinach artichoke dip. Would show you a pic but don’t want to gross you out. It’s bad. Bleeding, painful; never seen bone in my mouth before. Dentist in a few.

Behavioral effects? So many. Can’t chew, so I’m a bit hangry. Also, I’m put off hot cheese for a while but will probably go to that restaurant again (been there lots, safely, before this, so the aversive contingency isn’t that strong). Will stop by to tell them to change their practices and employee training. Potential new avoidance-maintained behavior: Blowing on food, even when they don’t tell me they walked it from the oven to my table.

See? Learning doesn’t happen in your brain, it happens in your environment, and your brain comes along for the ride, doing its thing, helping you navigate the effects. So when someone says, “I’m a behavioral scientist,” you should give them as much (or more) credit as a neuroscientist for what they’re about to say regarding behavior and learning.

And I’m counting this as my morning writing practice ✅. Maybe I can catch up on my morning ‘stack reads from the waiting room.

Thanks for reading. May your cheese encounters be safe and non-injurious.