The Superpower: Can You Have Good Taste?

Moonwalk

"But he listened to it and he says, 'That's good shit, dad!'"

- Paul Rozin

There's a deep, subjective feeling inside us. And it's the feeling that you know what tastes good, you know what movies are terrible, and you know that your grandfather's esoteric opinions on classical operas are actually spot-on.

But in a world filled with varying subjective preferences (as well as people who enjoy eating pickles whole), there is an idea that won't die.

It's the idea that someone can have "good taste". The idea that your taste can be better than my taste.

On this episode, we investigate:

- Does that idea make sense?

- Is is possible to improve your taste systematically?

- What are the components of someone who has good taste, and someone who doesn't?

- And how subjective is taste in a world with clear preferences?

The Facts

Moonwalk is hosted, written, and produced by Mohnish Soundararajan.

Episode was co-hosted by Kevin Sanji. Feedback is by Jarrod Sport, Justine Brumm, and Kevin Sanji.

Special thanks to Anna Leonard and Paul Rozin.

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Music is by Podington Bear, BitBasic, and Kevin MacLeod