What Is Taste? - Big Think

Skip to content

Who's in the Video

▸

2 min

—

with

Sign up for the Smarter Faster newsletter

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

This Big Think special series looks at what taste actually is—from both a scientific and sociological perspective—and why it is that we find some tastes so appealing and others disgusting.

Up Next

How to Nurture Talent

▸

1 min

—

with

Related

A black and white image of a bunch of spheres, symbolizing the multiverse concept discussed by scientists.

Starts With A Bang

How logic and reasoning can fail as scientific tools

In logic, ‘reductio ad absurdum’ shows how flawed arguments fall apart. Our absurd Universe, however, often defies our intuitive reasoning.

quantum gravity

Starts With A Bang

Why “incompleteness” matters in theoretical physics

Physicists just can’t leave an incomplete theory alone; they try to repair it. When nature is kind, it can lead to a major breakthrough.

A digitally enhanced view of a crescent planet Earth with a galaxy in the background.

Starts With A Bang

What was it like when planet Earth first formed?

The Earth that exists today wasn’t formed simultaneously with the Sun and the other planets. In some ways, we’re quite a latecomer.

An AI-generated illustration of a man sitting at a desk, accompanied by thought-provoking poetry.

Can AI write authentic poetry?

Cognitive psychologist and poet Keith Holyoak explores whether artificial intelligence could ever achieve poetic authenticity.

Composition of the dark energy prominence universe showing percentages of dark energy, dark matter, and visible matter.

Starts With A Bang

What was it like when dark energy rose to prominence?

Early on, only matter and radiation were important for the expanding Universe. After a few billion years, dark energy changed everything.