One of my (many) contrarian beliefs is that we do not have s...

One of my (many) contrarian beliefs is that we do not have strong enough preferences. We often blame social media or the speed of information as the reason why we’re easily distracted, but the real reason behind our inability to focus has less to do with the sheer quantity of media and more to do with our laziness when it comes to distinguishing what to focus on amidst a sea of worldly thrills. We have nothing deeply purposeful to anchor ourselves to, and, as a result, our standards for pleasure have dropped to zero, and our focus remains fuzzy and shallow. Taste, by definition, is the ability to be decisive about what you like and what you don’t like, and exclusively seek out the first. In other words, good taste is a sign of good judgment. Want to have good taste? Get comfortable with saying ‘no’.

One of my (many) contrarian beliefs is that we do not have strong enough preferences. We often blame social media or the speed of information as the reason why we’re easily distracted, but the real reason behind our inability to focus has less to do with the sheer quantity of media and more to do with our laziness when it comes to distinguishing what to focus on amidst a sea of worldly thrills. We have nothing deeply purposeful to anchor ourselves to, and, as a result, our standards for pleasure have dropped to zero, and our focus remains fuzzy and shallow.

Taste, by definition, is the ability to be decisive about what you like and what you don’t like, and exclusively seek out the first. In other words, good taste is a sign of good judgment. Want to have good taste? Get comfortable with saying ‘no’.

Saved by andrea and

RelatedCollectionsNotes

But I also believe taste is something we can and should try to cultivate. Not because taste itself is a virtue, per se, but because I’ve found a taste-filled life to be a richer one. To pursue it is to appreciate ourselves, each other, and the stuff we’re surrounded by a whole lot more.

Brie Wolfson • Notes on “Taste”

added

stating clearly why defining taste is worthwhile

In a word, we’ve struggled for two years to find someone with taste—with an eye for what stands the chance of being interesting, entertaining, or useful to an audience.

We’re not alone. I’ve talked to authors, podcasters, documentarians, late-night TV writers, YouTubers and TikTokers, and they all share this problem. Most of these creators are

Billy Oppenheimer • The Cup of Coffee Theory of AI

and added

Developing taste is an exercise in vulnerability: it requires you to trust your instincts and preferences, even when they don’t align with current trends or the tastes of your peers. Because while having taste is cool, taste itself reflects a certain type of uncool earnestness – a commitment to one’s own obsessions and quirks.

Elizabeth Goodspeed on the Importance of Taste – And How to Acquire It

sari and added

Taste is about discovery, having interest in things, and making a lot of mistakes. It’s about trying to find the authentic set of choices that both reflect your own background, but also the choices and discoveries that you have made consciously and deliberately. It's always changing and it's also always in reflection of what everyone else is doing ... See more

Tahirah Hairston • RLT Interview #4: W. David Marx, Writer

sari and added

Stopping to ask yourself, “why do I like this?” can give you answers that unlock even more than you initially thought. By slowly building up a strong sense of personal taste, it creates confidence in that taste.

Mark Sabino • It’s All Sweetgreen

Natalie Audelo and added

taste > skills taste seems more scarce these days, and increasingly differentiating in the age of AI where so much of skills-based productivity is offloaded to compute. makes me think about the development of taste, and how we nurture taste for the next gen of humans.

scott belsky

x.com

gabriel and added

Notes on “Taste”

Brie Wolfson are.na

Sarah Drinkwater and added

do i have good taste?
—
“we don’t need strategy, we need to get things done”, shreyas doshi kept repeating this mantra until he got to twitter

twitter, 2014, didn’t really have a product strategy.
—

taste is a factor in everything we do. do we have taste in our beliefs? these eventually bleed into everyday product-decision making
—
i don’t have good taste

zebisko and added