Judging new work

“That was garbage.”
vs.
“I’m not familiar with that genre, and I didn’t quite understand it.”

Of course, these positions are not equal. The former is a judgement that presumes some level of subject knowledge. (Though it’s not always the case.)

The latter is a more open-minded response. It recognizes, “I have certain tastes and preferences. What I just experienced is outside the scope of these things.”

Would you know a good saut de basque if you saw one? Could you tell whether a motet was skilled or novice? Can you judge the matar kulcha seasoning? Or assess the quality of an almond ridge stitch?

We don’t always know the genre. We know what we like and what we don’t based on our tastes and tendencies, but that’s not the same as recognizing the quality of a thing in its particular domain.

When we don’t know, curiosity is the best posture.