taste
Let an agent handle taste as a sense with basic qualities, physiology, individual variation and culinary vocabulary, and give only general health information.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions
Qualities What is tasted.
Basic tastes
Five qualities.
Qualities
Basic tastes.
- Which basic tastes are present? definition
- How intense? measurement
Flavour
With smell and texture.
Flavour
Flavour description.
- How is the overall flavour described? definition
- What role does smell play? definition
Physiology How taste works.
Receptors
Taste buds.
Receptors
Receptor mechanisms.
- How are these tastes detected? definition
- What is the evidence? provenance
Variation
Between people.
Variation
Individual differences.
- Why do people taste things differently? definition
- Are genetic differences involved? provenance
Evaluation Sensory testing.
Methods
Panels.
Methods
Sensory methods.
- Which sensory evaluation method is used? provenance
- Is the panel trained? provenance
Vocabulary
Terms.
Vocabulary
Standard vocabulary.
- Which standard vocabulary applies? provenance
- How are terms translated? action
Health Taste disorders.
Loss
Ageusia.
Loss
Taste loss.
- When should loss of taste be checked by a clinician? action
- What are common causes, per reliable sources? provenance
Diet
Salt and sugar.
Diet
Dietary aspects.
- How do taste preferences affect salt and sugar intake? definition
- What does guidance suggest? provenance
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Activities and processes
- Entry kind
- thing
- Plane
- ACT
- Domain
- ACT.EVT
- Other names and narrower kinds
- flavour, umakara, pungency, umami, acquired taste, aftertaste, taste threshold, cooling taste
What it is Filled
The sense by which flavours are perceived through taste receptors on the tongue, detecting sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami, combined with smell and other sensations into flavour.
Why it exists Filled
Let an agent handle taste as a sense with basic qualities, physiology, individual variation and culinary vocabulary, and give only general health information.
Distinguishing features Filled
- Five basic tastes, with others debated
- Flavour combines taste, smell and texture
- Varies between people
- Loss of taste can signal illness
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Encourage tasting unknown substances or wild foods to identify them.
- Dismiss a person's loss of taste as unimportant.
- Misrepresent flavour in food labels.
Only with a human decision
- Advising someone who has suddenly lost their sense of taste.
May
- Explain how taste works from scientific sources.
- Describe the flavour of food using clear terms.
Moral aspects Filled
- Loss of taste can signal illness and lowers quality of life.
- Tasting unknown substances can poison.
Who is affected
- People with taste disorders
- Children
Owners Filled
Steward
Nobody owns a sense; each person has their own.
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- Q160402 - registry parent class
related
- perception - sense
- smell - flavour
- food - evaluation
- taste as aesthetic preference - another sense
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.taste
- Wikidata: Q124794 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q124794)
Direct properties not applicable Not applicable
Not applicable
Plane ACT: no invented physical properties.
Recognition optional Filled
- Basic taste words: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, umami
- Sensory evaluation scores
- Culinary terms such as aftertaste or pungency
- Not visible; described in words and scores.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- taste and describe flavours
- test taste function, clinically
- develop foods and flavours
- notice loss of taste as a health sign
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Ignoring taste loss that needs medical attention
- Overgeneralising individual preferences
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- ISO sensory analysis standards (such as ISO 5492)
Context of use required Filled
- Judging food, enjoyment and detecting harmful substances.
- basic tastes
- pungency and other chemesthetic sensations
- acquired tastes
- aftertaste
Sources Filled
- Wikidata item Q124794: taste - identity and sense of the item
- Wikipedia: Taste - general description of the item
Open questions
- Should basic tastes be separate entries?
- How should sensory vocabulary be standardised?
- How should taste disorders be linked?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q124794/spec.json