Unlearning 101

Unlearning Wine Tasting -- and Experts

This past weekend, the Wall Street Journal had an interesting article on wine tasting that really appealed to the unlearner in me.

If you're a wine afictionado, I encourage you to read the article. Here, however, are some of the unlearning highlights:

1. Wine experts frequently disagree among themselves so we might want to unlearn the habit of giving their selections undue consideration.

2. A recent study suggests that wine experts do not even enjoy the same wines as the average consumer. This raises the intriguing question of whether their opinions are even pertinent.

3. Your preference for a variety of wines is likely to change over time. Therefore, if you are going to listen to an expert, you may want to pay closer attention to those who are roughly the same age.

4. Women prefer different characteristics in their wine than men. This suggests the interesting idea that judges should be gender identified.

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Absolut Unlearning

To Unlearn: Try a Blind Taste Test

Absolut Unlearning

While TiVo-ing through the Daily Show with Jon Stewart this evening, I stopped to watch an ad for Abolsut Vodka. (It is posted below for your viewing enjoyment.) It is a clever bit of advertising, but before you rush out and purchase a bottle, I suggest you review this now four year-old article entitled "A Humble Old Label ices its Rivals." In a blind taste test (which is one of my favorite unlearning tactics), a humble $13 bottle of Smirnoff smoked the competition, including the likes of Grey Goose and Ketel One.

As further evidence of the silliness of spending $20-$50 more per bottle for a fancy Polish, Russian or Finnish vodka in a sleek and well-designed bottle, it is worth recalling that by definition vodka is defined as a "neutral spirit, so distilled, or so treated after distillation with charcoal or some other material as to be without distinctive character, aroma, taste or color." In other words, all vodkas, by definition, should taste the same!

If this still isn't enough for you, consider this: almost every vodka producer buys its neutral spirits (which have already been distilled from grain) from companies such as Archer Daniels Midland.

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Unlearning Starbucks

 

To Unlearn: Try a Blind Taste Test

Yesterday, I encouraged people interested in unlearning to "trust but verify" their instincts. One area where this technique might save you some money is to have a friend or loved one give you a blind taste of your favorite (and perhaps expensive) wine or coffee along with that of a lesser brand.

Interestingly, a few years ago researchers at Stanford gave a group of wine experts a blind taste test of five different wines. The only information provided was the price of each wine -- ranging between $5 and $90. Not surprisingly, the most expensive wine was identified as the best. What is interesting, though, is that three of the wines (the $5, $45, $90 bottles) were the same wine.

In other words, it was not the inherent characteristic of the wine (i.e. a"charismatic Cabernet Sauvignon with a full-bodied flavor and a hint of cherry and oak") that the tasters were reacting to, it was the price.

Now consider some of your favorite wines, coffees and chocolates. Are you really reacting to the superior taste -- or the inflated price? If you're unsure, take a blind taste test.  The results may very well encourage you to unlearn some of your expensive habits.

Unlearning Starbucks

The most interesting news is often found in the smallest articles. Buried deep inside today's Wall Street Journal is a tiny article entitled Starbucks Tests Stealth Outlet. Apparently, in an effort to boost lagging sales, the mega-coffee chain is conducting an interesting test. It is dropping it's name from a local Seattle store and replacing it with a name that "more closely resembles a corner coffee shop." Aside from the blatant manipulation that we have to come to expect from multi-national corporations, I respect the idea because it at suggests the company is actively engaging in unlearning.

The Next Best Thing Since Sliced Bread?

It is not likely to replace the invention of sliced bread in terms of popular business cliches, but new research indicates that a different type of packaging (one which contains cinnamon oil) could keep bread fresher for a longer period of time. If true, this could require food processors to unlearn their current tactics for fighting mold (e.g. ultraviolet light, sterile packaging, chemical preservatives, etc).