[antinitro]

"At his memorial service, Laurene remarked that what struck her most upon really getting to know him was his "fully formed aesthetic sense." He knew exactly what he liked, and he analyzed it until he could tell you precisely why."

I find this quote very interesting. To analyse exactly why you like something obviously puts you in a place where you can easily critique and improve on ideas.

[stcredzero]

That is indeed of key importance. I know some musicians who have this and some who don't. I notice that the ones who don't tend to learn tunes that we mutually like, but play those tunes without the things that really make them work.

I think the same thing happens with products.

[antinitro]

I think it's a very important mindset to have, especially within a startup. I'm going to make a conscious effort to evaluate aspects of my life in the same way. As with anything, repeated use develops the 'muscle' required to do this quickly and I see it being a very valuable skill.

[stcredzero]

I think the Zen folks call this "mindfulness."

[sebg]

Definitely find this quote interesting as well. Especially because it also means that he was able to communicate the aesthetic to other people in a way the other people understood it. That's amazing.

[cappsjulian]

Absolutely. It takes so much more than 'I hate it' or 'I love it' to really develop anything worth a damn.