On Thursday, April 10, 2014 1:37:49 PM UTC-7, Walt wrote:
Unless You Can Do It Blindfolded, Please STFU
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http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-dru...-do-it-blindf=
olded-please-stfu
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(reacting to Gary's observation that the posting has been light lately,
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thought I'd pass this one along...)
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//Walt
Silly article. Self proclaimed skeptics that don't know how science actuall=
y works tend to make science and skepticism look bad. Case in point...
"I've long suspected this, but now we have Scientific Proof(tm). Profession=
al violinists who insist that there's nothing like a Strad can't even tell =
them apart from modern instruments:"
This is such a gross misrepresentation. 1. No one who knows anything about =
science would ever make such a dogmatic claim based on one study. 2. This w=
as not what the test concluded. Not even close.=20
Then the author made some pretty wild assertions that are in no way support=
ed by the study he is writing about. Here are a few zingers....
"Wine snobs can barely distinguish red from white when they're blindfolded.=
"
Aside from being total nonsense there is no connection. =20
Then we have this wild leap...
"Pro violinists can't pick out a Strad from a decent modern violin."
Huh? "decent?" Did he actually read the study? The Strads were hardly being=
compared to "decent" modern violins. This was a blind shoot out between th=
e creations of one man hundreds of years ago against modern artisans who ha=
ve all the advantages of modern materials, tools and machinery not to menti=
on CAD programs, and modern testing facilities. That the Strads were as com=
petitive as they were speaks to what an amazing achievement they really are=
.. But anyhooo. The test did not demonstrate that the violins were indisting=
uishable. All it demonstrated was that state of the art modern violins are =
very competitive with Strads. How is this anything but a testimonial as to =
how amazing Strads really are?=20
Then he concludes...
"So am I skeptical when you claim your $90,000 turntable is really and trul=
y light years better than some mere $2,000 POS? Yes I am."
As if there were any meaningful connection between this test and the sound =
of high end turntables.=20
This is a classic case of self proclaimed skeptic's misunderstandings of sc=
ience and misrepresentations of science as something that supports his pers=
onal prejudices.