Article: Why We Need Audiophiles
Reply #996 – 2009-05-04 23:47:59
The point you're ignoring is a big one - reliability. What post was it that gave you the idea I was ignoring reliability? As far as I'm aware, the placebo effect works very reliably. According to the study I quoted, the effect was so reliable that it even demonstrated the ability to manifest despite the subjects knowing there was no actual effect. As, well, I'd like to point out that the whole "it's just all in your head" argument you personally often use is exactly that reliable psychoactive placebo effect happening that so skews people in a sighted evaluation. That certain seems reliable, wouldn't you say?IME the effectiveness of holistic and other medical treatments whose only known effects are similar to that of placebos is maybe 30%. Furthermore, the effectiveness of placebo treatments has been reported to decrease as time passes. After all, the inital effectiveness was dependent in suspended disbelief. I understand that that may have been your experience. Can you post a reference to prove that the effectiveness of placebo treatments being reported decreases as time passes? Personally, I wouldn't doubt it, however, the placebo effect still reliably exist, even if it decreases with time. In fact, most visceral pleasures suffer exactly the same fate. Thrills just don't seem to last. The effectiveness of many very expensive high end tweaks is in the same range, decreasing to zero in controlled evaluations. I could believe it if you'd provide a reference.If you spend $3,000 on a CD player, how reliable should the purported audible benefit be? Should the purported audible benefit reliable enough to still be perceived after a lengthy discussion with a person who as ABXed a lot of CD players? Wouldn't that, of course, depend upon the purchaser? For some people, ignorance is bliss, for others, it is agony.People *are* interested in reliability - after all it was the reduced reliability of American and British cars as compared to Japanese cars that decimated the US and British auto industries. I've never argued otherwise. Indeed I relish reliability. Did I ever give you any reason to think otherwise?