Submitted by molllymaybe t3_y6z25l in askscience
farrenkm t1_ist4qxp wrote
Reply to comment by Petal_Chatoyance in How is the human gut microbiome established in infancy or earlier on? by molllymaybe
>Welcome to biological life; it's disgusting, but it works.
I'd argue it's only disgusting because we choose to see it that way. Biological life is an amazing and diverse work of machinery.
Petal_Chatoyance t1_isv362p wrote
You are correct, of course. But the disgust is also part of our wiring. We evolved to find such things disgusting, because in most cases, slimy, poopy, bloody situations are vectors for disease transmission. It serves survival to find all such sensations and appearances disgusting.
Which is why we also have a circuit for shutting it down during things like sex. The same person who is disgusted by slime and goop and oozing will, if aroused enough, find all of those things attractive temporarily.
It's amazing machinery, and amazing evolutionary programming, but - also really grotesque.
Though, as stated, I only find it so because my meat evolved to keep me from messing with it in most cases.
[deleted] t1_ist9rok wrote
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