Occam's razor has been evoked to support the notion that if two wires with
similar rcl, for example, sound different it is because there is
something, perhaps not yet identified, about them that causes this
perception and thus wire does have "sound". As the common sense least
complex explanation using Occam's razor, the above is explanation
enough,ie. it sounds different because it makes some, if even if not yet
known, difference in sound. and we don't need to add other explanations.

But there is one more bit about Occam's razor that is not being used, it
is to accept the simplist explanation which accounts for all the known
empirical factors. In the case of wire we know that if the wire in the
circuit in a listening alone test is not known, being able just at the
most minimal level to be able to simply note that there is a difference
occurs at a similar level as random guessing. To flesh out all that is
known, if the same wire is used in all tests but it is reported that
different wires are being used, differences will be reported as a clear
perception. Occam's razor needs to account for all of the above.

To use the "common sense" explanation, it must be made more complex and
qualifications added etc., as is the case in this newsgroup when the
latter factors are brought into the picture. Occam's razor applied in the
above case says that the reported difference lies somewhere outside the
wire because it accounts for all the factors known and doesn't have to
posit elaboration or evoking not yet identified factors.; when listening
alone is used in both proposed explanations.

Logically, the wire remains constant but the different testing factors
cause the reported differences; wire is the independent variable and
knowledge of wire being tested is dependent; knowledge is the cause.

wrote:

snip

THis has fsck all to do with Ockham. It has to do with
subjective versus measurable phenoemna. You don't have
to go that deep.

--
Les Cargill

Out,

I agree with Les that you're overcomplicating things. The main point you
didn't address is the importance of double-blind testing to know if there
even *is* a perceptible difference between one wire and another.

--Ethan