|
Tweakers' Asylum Tweaks for systems, rooms and Do It Yourself (DIY) help. FAQ. |
|
|
|
Tweakers' Asylum Tweaks for systems, rooms and Do It Yourself (DIY) help. FAQ. |
|
In Reply to: Re: Methodology for identifying crapola? ;-) posted by jneutron on September 23, 2005 at 07:00:36:
Hi John,Thanks for the detailed response. I'm glad that you mentioned the question of "How do you know if you haven't tried it?" Purveyors of various tweaks inevitably have used this response as the last line of defense when their pseudo-scientific explanations have been shot down. A related assertion typically made in the same breath with that response is that the science we know is simply inadequate for explaining the purported phenomena. This assertion is generally hard to rebut and may even be true in some cases. Since it is difficult to rule out completely, as a general principle, that there might be something we don't know yet that might be responsible for the claimed effects, one cannot respond to the question of "How do you know if you haven't tried it" by saying "I just know."
For instance, in the case of the GSIC, the explanation offered by the peddler of that chip sounds like total bullshit and contrary to our understanding of how things work. Nevertheless, once they take the stance that "even though I don't know exactly how it works, your science cannot prove that it does not work and you cannot say it does not work unless you try it," the debate is pretty much over because there is no effective response to that argument. It is what I call a dilemma. In trying to be open-minded and proof-driven, we prevent ourselves from completely/definitely rejecting some purported phenomenon that our gut feeling tells us does not exist. without trying it ourselves. All we can say is that based on our knowledge and analyses the possibility for the thing to work as claimed is nearly zero, but we cannot say we know for sure it is absolutely zero. We may say that we choose not to try it because in our opinion the likelihood for it to work is extremely small, but we are not allowed to say that there is no need to try it because we know with absolute certainty that it does not have the alleged effect.
Unfortunately, this dilemma leaves a wide crack for all the snake oil peddlers to thrive in, not only in the tiny world of audio tweaks but in all facets of human lives. Perhaps the only way to deal with it is to keep a health attitude of skepticism.
Best,
Kurt
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
Follow Ups
- Re: Methodology for identifying crapola? ;-) - KCHANG 09:25:05 09/23/05 (0)
Top of Page ]
[ Contact Us ]
[ Support/Wish List ]
[ Copyright © 2025, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]
