# Quote — Diane Ackerman, A Natural History of the Senses

> But we rarely taste the real thing. The vanilla flavoring we buy in the spice section of grocery stores, the vanilla we find in most of our ice creams, cakes, yogurts, and other foods, as well as in shampoos and perfumes, is an artificial flavor created in laboratories and mixed with alcohol and other ingredients. Marshall McLuhan once warned us that we were drifting so far away from the real taste of life that we had begun to prefer artificiality, and were becoming content with eating the menu descriptions rather than the food.

- Author: [Diane Ackerman](https://www.leafyquotes.com/diane-ackerman.md)
- Book: [A Natural History of the Senses](https://www.leafyquotes.com/diane-ackerman/a-natural-history-of-the-senses.md)
- Page: 158
- Source: [Wikiquote](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Diane_Ackerman#A_Natural_History_of_the_Senses_(1990)) ([CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/))
- Quote page: https://www.leafyquotes.com/diane-ackerman/a-natural-history-of-the-senses/but-we-rarely

## More from this book

> Not everything we feel is felt powerfully enough to send a message to the brain; the rest of the sensations just wash over us, telling us nothing. Much is lost in translation, or is censored, and in any case our nerves don’t all fire at once. Some of them remain silent while others respond. This makes our version of the world somewhat simplistic, given how complex the world is. The body’s quest isn’t for truth, it’s for survival.

p. 304 — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/diane-ackerman/a-natural-history-of-the-senses/not-everything-we-feel.md)

> So much of our life passes in a comfortable blur. Living on the senses requires an easily triggered sense of marvel, a little extra energy, and most people are lazy about life. Life is something that happens to them while they wait for death.

p. 305 — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/diane-ackerman/a-natural-history-of-the-senses/so-much-of-our.md)

> It began in mystery, and it will end in mystery, but what a savage and beautiful country lies in between.

p. 309 — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/diane-ackerman/a-natural-history-of-the-senses/it-began-in-mystery.md)