[bloak]

I don't think disgust is "innate". A typical English person finds squid disgusting, but is happy to eat various kinds of cheese, including ones like Stilton with mould on them. Someone in Japan, on the other hand ...

Also, everyone has heard at least one story of a young child eating an earthworm they found in the garden. It seems to be only after seeing the reaction of older children and adults that they learn to find that disgusting.

[HighlandSpring]

> I don't think disgust is "innate".

Oh it is and what til you hear about couple more fears we didn't have to learn through experience:

> Examples of innate fear include fears that are triggered by predators, pain, heights, rapidly approaching objects, and ancestral threats such as snakes and spiders. Animals and humans detect and respond more rapidly to threatening stimuli than to nonthreatening stimuli in the natural world.

Some adaptations are so worthwhile they get wired into our biology!

- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32852735

[prometheus76]

Also, fear of loud, sudden noises, and fear of heights/falling are very ancient and show up very early in development.

[ZeroGravitas]

Some fun science on babies and fear of falling:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WanGt1G6ScA

[goethes_kind]

> A typical English person finds squid disgusting

Not true.

[xienze]

> I don't think disgust is "innate".

Sure it is. Did someone have to teach you not to eat shit? Or green meat that smells like death? Certain smells and physical appearances trigger reactions in our bodies that tell us "stay away." That there might be certain groups of people that act in contrary ways is an exception, and doesn't disprove anything.

[mrguyorama]

You haven't been around many babies have you? You absolutely have to stop them from trying to eat shit

[jessaustin]

Babies in my family have gorged on giant cockroaches when not sufficiently supervised...