De gustibus non est disputandum

There's no arguing about taste...just accept things...it's just the way things are.

This is my mantra of the moment.

I remember doing a major English VCE essay entitled 'Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely'. This paper didn't discuss the mismanagement of economies, the destructive forces of political meglamaniacs or the antics of gun-wielding police forces, but the individual's inability to make sound decisions within their own sphere of influence. The paper progressed rather tongue-in-check to spout everyday obvious examples of individuals' poor decision making; haircuts, choice of housepaint colour and the inappropriate naming of offspring. I got a great grade for this rather acerbic paper.

VCE was a world away...over 20 years ago...over 20 years history of of bad haircuts (mine and others) and I am less scathing of other's bad judgement calls. The French philosopher Jean Antheleme Brillat-Savarin in his revered work 'The Physiology of Taste' explains away these reckless examples of power corruption with the latin 'De gustibus non est disputandum'; there's no arguing about taste. Yes, beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder. Bad taste is not considered bad taste nor a bad decision in the eye of the decision maker. It's just the way things are.