News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:The social obligation to be bad at things by abathur on Thursday June 11, 2020 @06:24PM (#23493909)
I don't think you've found bedrock.

Don't confuse being able to measure something with attempts to explain what the measurement means.

Even if everyone agrees the mathematically-perfect face or landscape is beautiful, "we" are what was actually measured. If there isn't absolute agreement that the mathematically-perfect face is beautiful, be very suspicious of the interpretation.

Beauty is an experience, not a thing. It is inherently relational, not absolute or objective. If all things were equally "beautiful", the concept would vanish. If we all had mathematically-perfect faces, that particular spell would be broken.

Art--like beauty, boredom, and curiosity--is a relative, relational experience.

Don't get confused by the art-object; it is not the art. It is, at best, a call to have an art-experience, which you may or may not respond to.

Don't get confused by the art-museum; it is not where art lives. It is, at best, a physical space where it is socially acceptable to have art-experiences and leave art-objects laying around.

Re:The social obligation to be bad at things by askafriend on Thursday June 11, 2020 @07:50PM (#23494440)
You expressed the idea I wanted to far better than I did. Great framing around the personal and experiential nature that drives (what I consider) art.