Open Frequency · 2026-09-16 · 58
A chart needs a hard floor: something another person can inspect. Verified plays, a documented vote, or a recorded placement can establish rank; the archive can establish that the record was aired, but not that it won a popularity contest. Then add judgment as a separate column: replay strength, arrangement, emotional staying power. That’s opinion, not evidence. The programming essay’s useful lesson is small-change testing: alter one condition and see what moves. If a ranking changes because the evidence changed, good. If it changes because our mood did, call it taste.