2. misc-audio
  3. 1401504820

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

Showing 8 responses by mceljo

mceljo OP
1,357 posts
 
Mapman - As it turns out, we often genuinely, as defined by hour the chemistry in our brains react, believe what we assume to be true. When we are wrong, which is not the majority of the time, we can become the proverbial donkey.
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.
mceljo OP
1,357 posts
 
I found the two days of classes fascinating and look forward to getting into the final three days...possibly two days this coming week.

The "power of assumptions" is pretty much proven brain chemistry which is why understanding it can be so powerful. It takes a conscious effort to take the step back and evaluate things objectively.

I assume Y was caused by MX+B, but could it be anything else?
mceljo OP
1,357 posts
 
Charro - The information was related to being aware of how we naturally react to the world based on our assumptions so that information can be used to learn to be more open to our assumptions being wrong. Knowledge is powerful.

Rodman99999 - The irony is that you assume someone is "weak minded" because they don't hear the differences that you do. They would probably assume the opposite. The point is that it doesn't matter if you are really hearing or a difference or have just convinced yourself that you do, your reaction to people with different opinions will be the same.

It isn't about being right or wrong in your assumptions, it's about understanding your natural reaction that results from your assumptions.
mceljo OP
1,357 posts
 
Here is another way to think about this. Suppose you are in a group of 10 people and told that it was known that 9 out of the 10 people in the group held an incorrect assumption on a given topic. Everyone would assume they were correct and it was someone else that was wrong. We simply choose to believe that we are right even with the odds stacked against us. People agree with generalities as long as they don't consider themselves in the group being generalized about, once it gets personal almost everyone will object and assume that they are the exception.
mceljo OP
1,357 posts
 
One of the problems with audio is that there is absolutely more than just your ears involved with your perception of sound. This is compounded by the fact that it is impossible to describe our perception of sound to others because they have to understand it based on their experience.
mceljo OP
1,357 posts
 
I was doing some internet reading on Friday and came across two Interesting studies.

One was a depression drug study where they proved that the brain reacted in the same areas and in the same way with the drug and placebo. In fact, the prefrontal cortex was actually more active with the placebo. There was more to the study, but it was interesting that the sime belief in the placebo was enough to physically alter the brain activity.

The other was a sleep study where the researchers told people randomly that they had achieved more or less rem sleep compared to the average during a sleep study where they pretended to measure the rem sleep. They also asked each perso. How they felt they slept. Then they tested their cognitive ability and found that those who were told that they slept well scored higher even when they felt otherwise. The brain is a powerful force, but it only takes a little belief in something to trick it.

Wine will generally score higher in a taste test if it is reported to cost more.

Like it or not, our expectations and preconceived notions have a direct impact on how we experience things. Audio is not excluded. Sound goes from our ears and is interpreted in our brains. I would love to know the order of magnitude relative to the measurable difference in audio gear. I suspect the "placebo floor" is quite high...
mceljo OP
1,357 posts
 
Placebo doesn't eliminate the possibility of objective factual opinions. I don't think it is as much a factor on equipment like speakers and amplifiers where the differences can be significant, but for things like cables, isolation devices, etc., where the differences are often small the impact can easily become more real.
More to discover