On taste

what we talk about when we talk about taste

I don't know much about art, but I know what I like.
— apparently nobody knows who said this

Because what’s demonstrated here is that tasteis actually a function of all kinds of contextual information, including information wholly extrinsic to the thing itself. (This is why wack people can ruin something you love.) There is no purely inherent value that exists in a vacuum, separate from cultural information. Context is always... See more

Masked and anonymous

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

I think there’s a lot of depth to be found in the pursuit of beauty, I just think we tend to underestimate the extent to which our taste can be meaningful, rooted in something true about us, rather than reactive and trend-driven. Lately, when I find myself wanting something new, I’ve been considering whether the lack I’m feeling is more fundamental

“Level up your taste.”
— Rick Rubin, The Creative Act

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

“One of the misconceptions about AI is that it lessens the need for skill and expertise. I think the opposite is true: the more I use ChatGPT, the more I realize how valuable expertise is. Chatbots excel with specific prompts. If you ask it to challenge your brand positioning strategy, you'll get a generic answer. But if you ask it to challenge it

“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