Would you take a music recommendation from someone that you hated? Would you consider listening to the iTunes playlist of someone you completely despised? Would you watch a movie if a personal enemy of yours told you it was good? Why or why not?

Most of us would be inclined not only to not listen to the music of our enemies, but to strictly avoid listening to it at all costs. Even if we end up in a situation where we're forced to hear the songs, our brains will work hard to make sure that, no matter what, we don't end up liking them. And we'll make sure of it with all our might.

Why is that? There are people that I don't like, and there are almost certainly people that despise me. But what does that have to do with the type of media we chose to consume? Nothing, really. I'm a person who is looking for interesting music...so is each of the people that I dislike.

Even people that I like, but who I know to have "poor" taste in music, I'll go to great efforts to avoid admitting that I share their taste in music. These little cognitive biases play a huge role in determining what art we deem acceptable. This is silly. Nothing should preclude me from liking a song just because it happens to be a favorite of a person whose company I cannot stand.

And yet, it matters...at least in my head.