Surely this is just a matter of opinion? Someone might see this (which I personally agree, looks great) and say that it’s too busy and that a cleaner, simpler design like The Oculus[1] in NYC is in better taste. Someone else might conceivably say that design is too cold.

Neither of those opinions is wrong. There isn’t much objective truth to be had here.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Center_station_(PA...

That's your taste, which might be good taste, but how do we decide on that?

"how do we decide on that?" That's the point. There is no current calculus to compute this but I find Paul's argument pretty convincing still.

I'm picturing Steve Jobs on stage to make an industry-shaking announcement...

in a turtleneck tucked into his mom jeans, and glaring white sneakers.

I think you're making a derisive judgement on his fashion choices, from the distance of a couple decades. This is always an error, but you should see his "vest" years!

As it happens, there's a story behind the choices of black turtleneck (very specific maker), Levi's (5xx?), and New Balance (993s). They are the results of deliberate application and prioritization of optimizations -- evaluated by his personal criteria only, of course. You might think I'm kidding, but I am not.

> black turtleneck (very specific maker)

Pretty sure that's Issey Miyaki.

> They are the results of deliberate application and prioritization of optimizations -- evaluated by his personal criteria only, of course. You might think I'm kidding, but I am not.

I believe you 100%. None of those words is synonymous with "good taste".

There is no "good" in this equation, but clearly the decisions were the result of the application of large amounts of "taste".

But see above re: application of current sensibilities to historical fashion decisions. Always a mistake.

Blaise Pascal wrote a delightful passage on good taste and bad taste in Pensées (circa 1667).