On taste
Taste isn't some mysterious gift bestowed at birth—it's simply what happens when you pay close attention to what moves you.
Sari Azout • What matters in the age of AI is taste
I’m talking about what you might call the “theory of maximum taste.” This theory is based on the idea that exposure to genius has the power to expand your consciousness. If you spend a lot of time with genius, your mind will end up bigger and broader than if you spend your time only with run-of-the-mill stuff. The theory of maximum taste says that
... See moreOne 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 wh... See more
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
From Ezra Klein:
AI might be able to churn out content faster than we can, but we still need a human mind to sift through and figure out what’s good. In other words, A.I. is going to turn more of us into editors. But editing is a peculiar skill. It’s hard to test for, or teach, or even describe. But it’s the crucial step in the creative process that
... See moreSteve Jobs, on Microsoft:
The only problem with Microsoft is they just have no taste. They have absolutely no taste, and I don’t mean that in a small way, I mean that in a big way, in the sense that they don’t think of original ideas, and they don’t bring much culture into their product.
“Why did I love that essay and not this one? What about that painting made me stop and stare?
Someone’s sense of taste also involves recognizing the gap between what they have made and what they intended to make.
To train our own taste, we must become cooks who aren’t scared to make food that may end up tasting terrible. To live in ‘the gap’ as Ira G
... See more“Level up your taste.”
— Rick Rubin, The Creative Act