("JP")

When I try a wine and I HATE it, but I can totally understand that it's good wine (no flaws, I can see why others might like it), I think that's what having "taste" is.

Apart from my subjective judgment, I can usefully apply the label "beautiful" to things I observe. To taste is to be a living being, but to have taste is to be human.

The way of the tourist is to consume; the way of the pilgrim is to be consumed. To the tourist the journey is a means. The pilgrim understands that it is both a means and an end in itself. The tourist and the pilgrim experience time differently. For the former, time is the foe that gives consumption its urgency. For the latter, time is a gift in... See more

The conversation around taste tends to focus on what it takes to develop it, but not what it takes to use it and unlock its potential, which is confidence .

Having and developing taste is one thing, but remaining connected to our taste is another. In order to take advantage of our taste, we have to be able to access its insights and guidance, which... See more

The perils of designing for scale

“We are in the midst of a major social transformation — moving many of our day-to-day activities from physical places to information-based places that we experience on our phones and computers. The central question here is: How can we design these information environments so they serve our social needs in the long... See more

Bruce Hornsby did not start piano until he was 17 years old, yet he remains one of the most important pianists of the 21st century, as he established a sound that is his own. It is a clever blending of the Americana side of jazz that you hear in some of Keith Jarrett's work, a big influence on him, as well as that pure cinematic western landscape... See more

Let’s elevate the language to give it more emotional depth and resonance:

Capitalism is often viewed as an efficiency mechanism, when in reality, it’s an exploration and discovery mechanism. The Austrian School of Economists recognized this. The miraculous strength of capitalism isn’t its beautiful singing voice or fantastic lyrics. Its true strength is not efficiency. In fact, a controlled economy can be very efficient... See more

What this exercise shows students is that just because you have looked at something doesn’t mean that you have seen it. Just because something is available instantly to vision does not mean that it is available instantly to consciousness. Or, in slightly more general terms: access is not synonymous with learning. What turns access into learning is... See more