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Comment by harbie | Hacker News Reader

Reminds me of a Nathan For You episode that lampoons the idea of ranking something as subjective as a burger.

Nathan convinces the owner of a burger joint in LA to go on a popular local radio station and promise that he has the best burger in LA, and offer $100 to anyone who eats there and disagrees. The comedy in this is apparent to pretty much anyone, but people will still refer to different restaurants as 'the best'.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4A-wUs-fofs

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My mood has more effect on the pleasure I get from many things than their intrinsic nature. The first beer on holiday in a new country is the best beer you've ever tasted. A meal eaten in silence when you've been looking forward to it tastes divine.

Hell - my own narcissism even overrides most things. My own cooking is often my favourite thing in the world.

And on the other side of things - high expectations or rote habit often kill pleasures for me. If I try too hard to enjoy something it blows away like dust.

Context is king. Back when I was a consultant and flew all over the place a lot, there were more than a few times I landed at O'Hare sometime after midnight, got off the plane starving, and immediately beat it to the "open 24 hours" McDonalds in the food court and had a box of Chicken McNuggets that were, at that moment, the best meal I could dream of. I mean, who knew that damn mcnuggets could be absolutely heavenly under the right circumstances...

> The first beer on holiday in a new country is the best beer you've ever tasted.

I walked 7 miles home from work through 6 inches of slush last night. Right after that came the best beer I've ever tasted.

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