Do you believe in Magic?

Bryon,

I just had to mention that I now understand, anew, and appreciate your "those who confuse the Obscure with the Profound" mini treatise. It ties up lots of theories (conspiratorial and the like) that permeate our lives. And I do believe it is intentional, as it works. Greenspan did it in order to rise to the incompetent level he achieved and it's used throughout the art world in order to keep real art out. Pick any endeavor and you'll see it being done, to some degree. The intensity goes up as the value of what's being sold rises. The correlation cannot be denied.

Nice touch.

It's not my intention to appear mean spirited but hopefully this does tie things up.

All the best,
Nonoise

You're insulting Barnum by mentioning him in the same sentence as the goobermeister.

03-17-12: Geoffkait
I am fairly certain we all have differing bounds of plausibility, and differing views on what constitutes a "satisfactory" explanation. If we default to the most skeptical opinions, those with the narrowest definition of the "finite bounds of plausibility," how will that affect progress in many fields of human endeavor? ....

03-17-12: Tbg
Almarg, the only real question is do we all agree as to what is implausible and on how implausible it needs to be to be rejected a priori. EEs seem to have a lower level of implausible, probably as that is their training....

The opinions of EE's will differ on these kinds of questions just as they will among the general population. Keep in mind that the majority of the general population would probably consider all high end audiophiles to be at least a little bit wacko :-)

For example, many EE's would assert that all cables, and even all amplifiers, sound exactly the same. Whereas one EE in this thread (me) asserted early on that Bryon's findings with the ERS paper, although not readily and precisely explainable, were certainly not outside the bounds of plausibility.

The real issue, as both of you alluded to, is where to draw the line between plausibility and implausibility. Obviously the choice of where to draw that line will generally be subjective, debatable, and imprecise. For that reason, among others, I said that "broad latitude should be allowed for the possibility that subtle and counter-intuitive phenomena may be at play." That is the antithesis of "defaulting to the most skeptical opinions."

My basic point is that reason, judgment, common sense, and technical understanding (as well as open-mindedness) need not be and should not be left at the door when a listening room is entered.

Regards,
-- Al

Almarg, I always tense when "common sense" is mentioned. It is exceedingly unscientific. Everybody knows man cannot fly, etc.

I am decidedly unscientific when it comes to audio. I merely have to please myself. It is like wine, women, and song, just a matter of tastes, not science. I am very open-minded and thus have many "tweaks" lying around. Many initially impressed me only to prove of too little value to continue, but yet others ultimately detracted more than they contributed.

Audiofeil, having declared publicly that you have 52 years of experience you'd think a person would be able to bring more maturity to these Audiogon forums -- and more respect. I have more than 52 years experience. I have strong opinions as those who read my postings know. But I try to keep my level of discussion civil and respectful. That is the least we can do here.

You cannot even bring yourself to call Jack Bybee by his name. Instead, you prefer to mock Jack Bybee and use a demeaning insult instead of his proper name. How would you feel if people used an insulting name for you on Audiogon instead of your moniker? You know that Jack Bybee does not contribute to forums so you give your invective full reign knowing he will not reply -- and knowing most people choose to ignore your postings. Because that is what they deserve.

Even if you do not agree with someone you should have enough respect to refer to a person by his or her proper name -- especially someone who is 82 years old and whose products have been widely accepted and very positively reviewed. Would you also choose to demean respected reviewers of Jack Bybee's products -- people like the widely-respected Clement Perry of Stereo Times?

Regarding your quote of Jack Bybee who refers to Harvard I think his comment very aptly describes many people on Audiogon who bring the level of discussion down to the sub-basement instead of elevating it. I wonder if Jack Bybee hit a personal nerve with you. You have commented on Audiogon that others who post here do not have your beard of wisdom. Do you think your inane "Johnny One Note" postings exhibit the least bit wisdom -- or dignity?