Tinkering is a way to acquire good taste

What “taste” Means (and Whether It’s Just Aesthetics)

• Many argue the article muddles “taste” with UI aesthetics; others point out the author later defines it as discernment: the ability to distinguish mediocrity from excellence.
• Several commenters reinterpret taste as:
  • Nuanced, defensible opinions grounded in experience.
  • The ability to evaluate one’s own preferences and explain them.
  • A social construct: “good taste” is simply alignment with a reference group.
• Some push back on full relativism, insisting there are at least partially objective aspects of quality.

Is Tinkering Necessary to Develop Taste?

• Supporters: tinkering (trying many variants, tweaking tools) builds internal models and reveals trade-offs, which refines judgment. Curiosity-driven experimentation is contrasted with passive consumption.
• Skeptics: you can gain taste via exposure, practice, or mentorship without endlessly adjusting configs; tinkering can devolve into shallow knob‑twiddling.
• Several note that taste often emerges from being burned by bad decisions over time, not from font and mouse tweaks.

Strong Reactions to the Blog’s Design

• The CRT‑style scanline overlay and pixel font sparked major disagreement: some found it unreadable and “evidence of bad taste,” others loved the nostalgic retro vibe.
• The effect’s CSS implementation is dissected, with multiple people happily tinkering with disabling or modifying it—ironically enacting the article’s thesis.

Tinkering, Age, and Pragmatism

• Many describe a shift from heavy customization when young to preferring defaults later, citing time constraints, family, and desire for reliability.
• Others argue this is defeatist or gatekeeping: “no time spent learning is wasted,” and dotfiles/config work can pay off repeatedly.

Taste, Hedonic Treadmill, and “Ignorance is Bliss”

• Long subthreads use coffee, wine, audio gear, knives, chocolate, cameras, etc. to debate:
  • Does increasing discernment improve life or just make cheap things unbearable?
  • Can real expertise coexist with enjoyment of “low-end” or nostalgic options?
• Many advocate a middle path: learn enough to hit the 80/20 point, avoid snobbery, and stay able to enjoy both diner coffee and single‑origin pour‑over.

Taste in Software and Teams

• Some see “good taste” in code as crucial in the LLM era: not just making things work, but choosing simple, maintainable designs.
• Others warn that strong personal “taste” can become rigidity and ego, harming collaboration; consistency and clarity for teammates may matter more than individual style.