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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
tgrisham
1,291 posts
 
Good post. Self fulfilling prophecy. For me, it relates to many things. Take bicycles...if you believe that carbon is better than aluminum or steel or any other material, no matter how superbly designed and carefully crafted a bicycle is, unless it's made from carbon, even poorly made, you will not like it. Audio examples: solid state vs tubes, planar vs cones, digital vs analog, subs vs no subs, expensive cables vs plain cables, etc.

“Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won't come in.”
― Isaac Asimov
zd542
5,339 posts
 
"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."

Only if you have a weak mind and/or don't know what you are doing. Haven't you ever read a positive magazine review on an audio component and thought it would sound great? Only to find out it doesn't sound good at all when you finally hear it yourself?
mceljo OP
1,357 posts
 
Zd542 - There are always exceptions to every rule. What I described is the normal reaction. I might argue that reading a positive review and expecting something to sound good isn't the same as having a belief that one brand or type of amplifier is better.

His point was more related to getting a new coworker that you were told was lazy. The new coworker has little chance of changing people's minds because every mistake they make will be assumed to be the result of not putting forth effort even if they were genuinely working hard and just needed to get more experience at the job. The goal is to be willing to consider a different paradigm.

The audio topics this most likely applies to directly would be the "hot topics" that always end up being heated discussions. Cables, cable elevators, power cords, etc.
nonoise's avatar
nonoise
10,842 posts
 
All of this reminds me of going to audio shows and expecting something ground breaking and revelatory, based on reviews that honed and whetted my expectations, only to be disappointed and realize that what I have at home is perfectly adequate, if not downright great at times.

I had a good laugh a long time ago when some reviewer said it would be best to just cut out a picture of what you want and tape it to your wall as you listen to your system. You can always update when a "better" product is reviewed by the old cut and tape routine and never be in debt.

What we imagine to be is what we tend to go by and sometimes the strength of that belief can border on religion. I've noticed this more and more on the political and economic landscape and find it disheartening, so why not audio?
Pick any topic and you'll see more acrimonious discussion than usual nowadays. It's getting to be the norm.

All the best,
Nonoise
zd542
5,339 posts
 
I get what you're saying and you definitely have a valid point. The main reason for my post is that I think psycho acoustics is taken too far in many cases. To me, it looks like people use it to "get around" certain arguments they don't believe in. A good example is the "objectives" when it comes to cables. They make definitive statements based on facts and science, but they just talk and never actually show or do anything. The result leads to not only selling themselves short as to whats possible in audio, but many people that believes their assumptions.

"His point was more related to getting a new coworker that you were told was lazy. The new coworker has little chance of changing people's minds because every mistake they make will be assumed to be the result of not putting forth effort even if they were genuinely working hard and just needed to get more experience at the job. The goal is to be willing to consider a different paradigm.

The audio topics this most likely applies to directly would be the "hot topics" that always end up being heated discussions. Cables, cable elevators, power cords, etc."

That argument definitely makes sense (at least to me.). I would only add that I think you would find the above quote will apply more to individuals that are new and/or don't have a lot of experience with audio.

"Only if you have a weak mind and/or don't know what you are doing. Haven't you ever read a positive magazine review on an audio component and thought it would sound great? Only to find out it doesn't sound good at all when you finally hear it yourself?"

That's why I put it so bluntly. I'm hoping that someone who reads it will realize they can get better results if they take a more active role in getting good sound. Its not an easy path. The less you rely on outside sources, the better off you'll be. (hopefully)
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