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The Power of Assumptions

A few weeks ago I was in some leadership classes at work that were taught by an PhD Industrial Psychologist. It was very interesting and I learned a lot. He was very knowledgeable about what is going on inside the brain during different actions and thought processes. One example was that the act of throwing a ball to someone on the move (i.e. playing catch) uses the same pathways in your brain that all delayed gratification decisions do. You are holding the ball while visualizing where the ball and person will meet at a point in the future. This is why it is very important to play arch with your kids. It trains their brains to use these pathways and help them develop the skills necessary to delay gratification.

How does this relate to audio? Another thing he takes about was the power of assumptions. When we believe/assume that something is true the way our brain reacts to it chemically and electrically is identical rather it is in fact true or not. The secondary effect that happens is that we then become supremely aware of every little thing that supports our assumption and we blindly ignor anything contradictory. He said that this is why it is so difficult to get someone to change their opinion of you. His point was that we needed to be aware of this involuntary response and be willing to ask ourselves if there was any other way to look at a given situation.

It made me think about how this directly relates to audio. What we assume can actually have a stronger impact our experience than the objective facts. For example, if I assume that solid state amplifiers are inferior it will be extremely difficult for me to have a positive experience with one because my brain will be working overtime to find a way to support my assumption. It might take hearing a solid state amplifier while believing it to be a tube amplifier to force my to be objective and at least consider that a solid state amplifier might sound great.
mceljo
nonoise's avatar
nonoise
4,382 posts
 
That brings up the play/movie "12 Angry Men". Only, Fonda's character was right all along. :-)

Mceljo, did your instructor bring up the role of semantics in detecting B.S. (deliberate or not) as it occurs instead of going back and sifting through the carnage of the argument to find the crucible of it all?

Or, is it conventional wisdom to assume that both sides have a point (another semantic error) and that it doesn't matter how poorly they present it?

I only ask as some points are so obviously in error but the meme of the moment is that all sides have a point and are valid and nothing is settled matter. Those types of assumptions only help to derail any hope of forward momentum or resolution.

All the best,
Nonoise
buconero117
2,311 posts
 
Maybe the 'assumptions' should be replaced by 'bias'. it effects everything we 'think' about. That is the way we are 'wired up'. Yes, it is often well to replace the 'wires', and if you are into audio, it must be oxygen free copper at $1K a meter.
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
14,147 posts
 
Backfire Effect

The "backfire effect" is a term coined by Brendan Nyhan and Jason Reifler to describe how some individuals when confronted with evidence that conflicts with their beliefs come to hold their original position even more strongly:

Whatever the cause, the backfire effect is very curious. The more ideological and the more emotion-based a belief is, the more likely it is that contrary evidence will be ineffective. There is some evidence that lack of self-confidence and insecurity correlate with the backfire effect. More research is needed to fully explain what additional factors lead some people to respond to contrary evidence by treating it as if it were additional support for one's belief. Further research is also needed to see if different groups are more susceptible to the backfire effect (liberals and conservatives, theists and atheists, skeptics and true believers) and, if so, why.

“”What should be evident from the studies on the backfire effect is you can never win an argument online. When you start to pull out facts and figures, hyperlinks and quotes, you are actually making the opponent feel as though they are even more sure of their position than before you started the debate. As they match your fervor, the same thing happens in your skull. The backfire effect pushes both of you deeper into your original beliefs."

—You Are Not So Smart - The Backfire Effect
nonoise's avatar
nonoise
4,382 posts
 
It used to be that the power of shame was enough. It was done in public, be it at meetings, forums and at the table. Fringe elements were just that: on the fringe. They usually had to go to the fringe radio stations and listen to someone blathering about Area 51 from some trailer in the desert.

Nowadays, we have the internet and all the kooks you can shake a stick at. Their beliefs are reinforced on a level not seen before. All of this helps to reinforce this cognitive dissonance that only drives the kooks deeper into their illusions. Facts mean nothing. Gut feelings and emotions rule the day. It was not like this when I grew up.

All the best,
Nonoise
zd542
5,339 posts
 
It's just stereo equipment.
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