Feel vs. Think - take an objective look...

I pretty much agree with Pbowne. As to where the perception is from, I think "I think" derives from personal observations, and "I feel" does not. On the other hand, I have absolutely no qualm against reviewers or whoever that uses "I think" or "I feel" in their statements. The reader just have to learn how to judiciously take it with a grain of salt and when to agree. This should be inherent in the reader's literal literacy and ability to read between the lines literacy.

ENTJ, INTJ..who.....whom cares? The real concern is the real. We debate tubes vs. transistors...silver cables vs. copper..and the real point(s) are missed.

Ladies..and Gentlemen, your cd players have zinc/steel signal traces..that lead to zinc/steel female RCA output connectors with fake gold plate. Worse than this, they have one dollar, or less, op-amps as the "audio sections".

So, much of what you debate is not the issue..

Simple:

The prudent high-end buyer will make his choice on emotion, subject to fact.

Interesting thread. In the classroom whenever I prefaced an answer with "I think" more often than not the clever educator ensconced for my enlightenment would interject "You think?! Don't you know?!" In the age of instant karma, delving past the foibles of human nature occasionally requires the use of one's own judgement and imagination.

As I'm sure many of you know, Myers-Briggs measures our personalities in terms of "preferences". The thinking vs feeling scale (one of four) relates to how we prefer to make decisions in the world around us. Thinkers can give detailed explainations of how they got to a decision, where feelers can describe what emotions drove them to a decision. Both can be perfectly valid, and most of us are capable of using either depending on the circumstances (although we each have our strong preferences and may not be aware of which we are using).

High end audio attracts and offers much to both types. Some of us spend our time looking at the specs and designs and drawing conclusions that we can substantiate with great detail and logic. Others spend their time listening to music and relating to the experience. Both can be just as convinced of their decisions and proud of their end systems.

My guess is that a good reviewer has to be fairly balanced at both and that should be revealed in their choice of words in the review. "I think this componant is better because the design is..." or "I feel this componant is the better choice due because it is more involving...".

Advertizers would have to appeal to both as well, although maybe not in the same ad. If I buy an amp because of the power needed to drive a speaker, I am thinking. If I buy an amp because I am imagining the reaction of my friends when they see it, I am feeling. Anyone ever done both?

So, high end sellers have an opportunity to use these ideas proactively to get us to buy. All is fair...