> > Take, for example, the sentence "One can appreciate the colors and artistry of the Van Gogh painting." Sounds pretty schnobby, doesn't it? But look at these alternates:
> > "Anyone can appreciate the colors and artistry of the Van Gogh painting."
> > "You can appreciate the colors and artistry of the Van Gogh painting."
> > "Art critics can appreciate the colors and artistry of the Van Gogh painting."
> > "Joe Blow can appreciate the colors and artistry of the Van Gogh painting."
> > "Everybody can appreciate the colors and artistry of the Van Gogh painting."
>
> I'm no English major, but...
>
> "One can appreciate the colors and artistry of the Van Gogh painting" is different from the above alternatives, though. "Anyone" and "Everybody" literally mean any person or every person (respectively); "One" is slightly more vague than that. It's not suggesting that *anyone* can appreciate the colors in the painting, or that only critics can appreciate the colors, or even only myself. It is stating, quite simply, that one can appreciate colors, one being the undefined person you mentioned.

That's the way I read it, too. It's a very precise usage of language. Every alternative given above has a completely different meaning and is not interchangeable with any of the other alternatives. "One" is more like a placeholder. It allows the sentence "The colours and artistry can be appreciated" to be expressed actively instead of passively, but without needing to specify the appreciators.

When a speaker uses "one" to refer to him/herself, however, I agree that it's an affectation.