A useful definition of taste

Taste is often treated like a private weather system: some people have it, some do not, and nobody can explain why. That makes it sound mysterious enough to avoid practicing.

I prefer a more useful definition. Taste is the ability to notice which differences matter, then to make a choice that clarifies the whole.

Attention before opinion

The practice begins before preference. Look long enough to describe what is happening without reaching for praise or dislike. Which edge carries tension? Where does the rhythm break? What is the one element doing too much work?

Good criticism makes the next attempt more possible. It names a relationship, not merely a reaction. Over time those relationships become a library: proportions, pauses, contrasts, and tiny violations that give a thing its character.

Taste grows when attention becomes specific enough to act on.