Why do digital cables sound different?

A topic that's been beat to death, but IMO there is no audible difference between one digital cable and another. One toslink optical cable works just as well as another for carrying bits. Same with coax RCA. Same with balanced AES. Same with USB. Spending more than $20 on a digital cable is money down the toilet, and anyone who claims they can hear a difference between two different brands is full of baloney.

Why is it so darn difficult for some people to accept the simple fact that some listeners have better hearing ability than others; wether because of physiological differences, experience, or training?

Having had Audioquest Truth solid copper conductor with air dielectric and Audioquest Truth solid silver conductor with air dielectric digital cables for comparison, it was obvious, in my system at least, there were important differences in how they sounded.

If a person Pays $5000 for a cable, they are going to have higher expectations. They sound better because one expects it to sound better.

As usual, when I explain audio cables, I remind everyone first exactly what is "the scientific method". As an engineer myself, trained in science, I don't try to explain anything until AFTER I have conducted a test, using my senses and my powers of observation to determine the human response to an issue. Then, and ONLY then am I ready to search for the explanation of why these observations occured. As scientists, we NEVER search for an explanation first, then force ourselves to observe what we logically determined to be true before-hand. So, the answer to "do digital cables sound different" is 100% in the ears of the observer. Then, the EXPLANATION of why must be consistent with that subjective experience. In other words, I listen first, with a complete reliance on my subjective ability to hear any difference. Then, and ONLY then, can I create hypothesis to explain why.