Cultivating taste

And that’s what real taste is: a deep internal coherence. A way of filtering the world through intuition that’s been sharpened by attention.

When creative options are nearly limitless, people with the ability to make bold, stylish choices will be in demand. And this will be true not just for creative industries such as writing, filmmaking and advertising but for business of all kinds. Knowing what you want — and having a sense of what will resonate with customers — will be the core huma... See more

Taste bridges personal choice (identity), societal standards (culture), and the pursuit of validation (attention).

when execution becomes trivial, direction becomes essential.

Taste is a vector for belonging — a path out of isolation and shame. Sharing what you’re reading, watching, and listening to brings the moths to the flame.

As we drown in AI-generated content, the person who can confidently say "this, not that" becomes invaluable when everyone else is paralysed by too many choices.

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.

I’ve come to believe that developing taste is not so unlike going to therapy; it’s an inefficient, time-consuming process that mostly entails looking inward and identifying whatever already moves you.