So basically the bottom line I’m getting from this a kind of variant of Occam’s Razor: Evolution is unlikely to produce solutions that include complexity or considerations it doesn’t need.
Or more specifically, and with an example, there are probably a lot more ways to get to taste buds that give good results in environments and contexts the organism is likely to encounter than ways to get to taste buds that give good results in both environments and contexts that the organism is likely and unlikely to encounter.
Yeah, I’ve definitely had to learn the hard way to tone it down with respect to having ideas and interests that run completely orthogonal to familiarity with peers/society.
Perhaps what annoys me even more is when I like something that coincidentally has associated with it one of those Outside The Box groups, when I don’t want to be associated with that group, or more accurately, don’t want to have to hear the canned response for it, whatever it may be.
For example, I like heavy metal and anime, but have no desire to be a part of those counter-cultural groups. Unfortunately, it’s pretty hard for me to talk about either of those things without people—both inside and outside those ciricles—from assigning me to that bin. It’s not harmless categorization either: being considered to fit in those bins has pretty strong social baggage attached to it.