During the instruction of knots at a level two climbing course the other day, I was musing upon how you can really divide humanity into two groups: those who tie an Alpine Butterfly knot by looping the line three times round their hand – and those who tie it flat, twisting the rope twice and then looping it around.
Full disclosure, I belong in the latter group.
This got me wondering why this might be.
This in turn reminded me of the business with coriander. There seems to exist a clear divide when it comes to coriander: some people love it, other hate it, with little middle ground in between. And indeed there is a factual reason for this, which is variations in the OR6A2 gene. This in turn has an influence on the olfactory receptor 6A2: the variation causes some people to associate the smell and taste of coriander with vomit or soap.
But hey, I like coriander.
So… I was wondering whether there might be some gene-based correlation between people liking coriander and how they tie Alpine Butterfly knots? My statistical basis is somewhat sketchy, but right now (based upon me) the empirical evidence would seem to indicate that people who like coriander tie the Butterfly knot flat.
Mind you, I may have to broaden the statistical foundation somewhat for that statement to hold water.