I was never into mainstream politics. I could never choose one side of a polarized issue that I could fully agree with.
And so it is with audio.
As a degreed propeller-head, I have a natural distain for snake oil and cooked up theories that claim to be scientific, then turn around and say science can't fully explain how it all works. And junk science never passes a double blind or placebo test. Never.
At the same time, I can't quite adhere to the extremist philosophy that basically dictates "if you can't measure it with instruments, and you can't prove it scientifically, then it doesn't exist. (Unspoken: I don't care what you think you heard; I'm sure you're just fooling your ignorant self)."
The problem with junk science is easily definable. The arguements only begin when a specific product or theory is nominated for the category.
On the prove-it or move-it engineering side, the problem is one of attitude more than explicitly spoken words. While the articles I've read on the faith of snake oil interconnect wires were very informative and enlightening, they had the undertone of a different kind of faith - one of scientific dogmatism.
No, I'm not defending nor attacking either side. Those articles were well written and level headed, and well defended with established theory. However, I think it's just as important to keep an open mind and remember Karl Popper's words that "nothing can actually ever be proven, only disproven." Once something is said to be proven, the theory becomes a type of religion. Conversely, if something cannot be disproven, but CAN be recreated under controlled conditions, then it stands further consideration no matter how improbable.
The tendency for modern engineers to have a knee-jerk negative reaction to something without hard data is all too great. "Where's the theory behind that? Where's the statistical proof? Can it be measured? (Unspoken: I dismiss it then, and lump it into some category peghole)."
It's not that any particular product or theory out there is being unjustly hanged. Nothing could be further from the truth. It's the closed minded attitude that doesn't think it's closed that is the real problem.
So where do I stand?
I personally believe it's possible to hear something the can't be measured. But what I REALLY mean by "can't be measured" is that it's possible we don't know how to measure it YET - and if this were the case, it would be quite likely because we're not looking in the right place - not because the parameter involved some mystic new energy that has hither gone unnoticed by science.
I also believe that something does not need to be written up in a paper in order to be true. Prior to college, we learn by experience and observation of what we see and hear. In college we learn that half of what we thought we knew was bogus, and we're given an entire system of learning tools. After college, we stop learning unless its' from someone who has credentials. Ok, that's an exxageration, but you get my point.
And finally, I'm personally not going to upgrade to any expensive audio accessory or equipment that I can't hear the difference through with my own ears in at least a blind test. But just because I can't personally hear it, I will never tell you that you can't hear it either.