I was on my way to work one of these days when I had a waste collection truck (Borla car) crawl right past me. And as expected, the stench was so unbearable to the core.
Yet, I realised something quite fascinating.
You know, it was quite amazing to observe how the unmasked waste collectors were just standing right behind the truck yet it seemed as though absolutely nothing was wrong. I even remember once seeing a person eating bananas in that position - by the Borla car - like no one's business.
But how was it possible? How was it possible for humans with flesh and blood (like me) to stand behind a stench like this, and still act indifferent? Especially when the dbees like me were visibly gasping for air like we were stuck in a Soviet era gas chamber.
Something must be wrong, I postulated, and so the nerd in me itched for answers like a chicken pox-infected parrot.
It turns out that I'm not the only person to think of something as brilliant as how waste men tolerate the stench. Apparently, the answer lies in a phenomenon known as sensory adaptation.
Key Definitions
- Sensory adaptation occurs when your senses get used to a stimulus and stop paying attention to it.
- A stimulus is a thing or event that causes a reaction in a living thing. It can be a physical or chemical change in the environment that affects the senses.
Sensory adaptation is a natural mechanism that allows us to filter out unnecessary information and focus on new or changing stimuli that may be more important to our survival and well-being.
The process of sensory adaptation works by reducing the response of sensory receptors in our brain to a constant or repetitive stimulus. This can occur in any of our senses, including touch, taste, smell, sight, and hearing.
For example, when you enter a room with a strong smell, you might notice it at first, but after a while, you don’t smell it anymore. This happens because your nose cells change their response to the smell over time. Similarly, if you spend a long time in a noisy environment, such as a construction site, your hearing will adapt to the constant noise and you will eventually stop noticing it.
All five senses can experience sensory adaptation, but some are more prone than others. For example, smell is one of the most adaptable senses because it is constantly exposed to different odours. Sight is also highly adaptable because the eyes need to adjust to different levels of light.
Sensory adaptation can have both positive and negative effects on our perception and behaviour. On one hand, it can help us cope with unpleasant or overstimulating stimuli and focus on more important things. On the other hand, it can also make us less aware of potential dangers or changes in our environment.
Now, here comes the motivation bit. You knew this was coming, don’t pretend.
On a more serious note, that's where Africans as a people have reached. Unfortunately, we've found ourselves at a point in history where we're numb to the situations around us, and our circumstances. For the Citizens of Paa Billy's Ghana, it's worse.
In my interaction with most Ghanaian youth, I find that we've become so numbed to the wrong things always happening that we don't have faith in anything good happening in our generation. And it seems as though it's hopeless to have hope. In fact, it's more attractive in my generation to be apathetic than to show hope.
Today, I'm bringing you inspiration brewed from the Borla car, the most unlikely place ever. I'm coming with a humble appeal to you. Yes, this Ghana looks hopeless. Yes, the grass is greener where we water it but we've been handed palm oil. Yes, ABC and D.
But no. We refuse to adapt. We choose to maintain hope, have faith, believe in a Ghana beyond this wahala and play an active role in building the Ghana we want.
Because adapting means we may be eating rubbish, and not even be aware of it.
