Is room treatment a science?


What dictates room treatment?  
Many options are available but trial and error can be pricey. I'm a happy tweeker  seeking knowledge and experiences.
Thank You for your thoughts. Long live HiFi !
tomavodka
Sorry for such stupidity but I've got a setup with some xrt 30 Mac speakers in a 40 x 40 room probably do not require any room treatment for this type of space any insight thanks
"Is a $4,000,000, 2000 seat auditorium trial and error or scientific.?"
It depends how they went around the volume of bodies expected to be in and material that clothes would be likely made of while there.
yes, it's a science. But you can diy, cheaply and simply and hear an improvement/difference.
It's easier to take brightness and echo out of a room, I would think, than the other way 'round.
Having a large rug on the floor helps.
Artwork on the walls helps.
Seating arrangement helps and the style of seating helps too.
I really notice a difference by pulling the curtains across the sliding glass doors. Stops reflection and harshness..
That Geddes book is a gold mine! If only I had known- and it had come out a dozen years earlier! Lol!  Oh well at least I got the solid wood exterior door with weather seal!!