I tend to look at the brain as a "component" with the same issues concerning "wiring," "voltage," "interference" etc. Just because the brain is neurologically wired and runs "wetware" instead of software doesn't mean it is exempt from the same type of calculus we apply to "electronics." As is evident in the MIT study, the brain has its own set of built-in biases which naturally accrue in systems that have been constrained and guided by evolutionary pressures over millions of years. Practically speaking I thought the article's most salient implication was that we as human animals should always be aware of the biases that can accumulate inside our heads as we are conditioned by advertising expectations, peer pressure expectations, mantra conditioning, tribal conditioning and all the other exogenous "pressures" that become endogenous. Seasoned audiophiles already understand this and are constantly cross-examining their motives and second guessing their decisions. Something that became noticeable and sort of unexpected to me as I started out on this journey was how much impact factors like time of day, mood, fatigue and musical preferences can alter what we think of as "right" stereo system decisions and assessments. That these assessments can maddeningly vary from one hour to the next, one day to the next, and one week to the next doesn't mean that we should castigate ourselves for being fickle. We are fickle - even when we think we are being strictly logical and unbiased - and we need to get over it.
