Why is science just a starting point and not an end point?

Scientific methods can be used to measure all sorts of performance criteria- volts, amps, volume, etc. Human beings however listen and rate performance based on their own personal evaluations of all of these combined. Scientific methods can be used to try and determine things like the weighting a particular listener gives each measurement, but it would be an inference based on their actual choices. This is all a long-winded explanation because you said, "science cannot predict how humans perceive sound" which is correct. But you then finish the sentence with, "but should be able to measure the performance of equipment!"

But science can. The discipline you seek is called logic or deductive reasoning. In it you will learn to avoid combining unrelated clauses as if they lead to a conclusion. They don't. They are unrelated. They lead to naught.

Science is a starting point because it is a method or process not an end result. Science is a method of understanding the world from a certain perspective or point of view. Science can tell us for example that the Shroud of Turin is so many years old, made from what kind of fabric, by what process, what pigments were or were not used, and so on. Science cannot tell us whether or not Jesus Christ was wrapped in it. That is a conclusion human beings and human beings alone can reach, on the basis of science, or not. To use but one example.

People mess up all the time misunderstanding science. Science can tell us how to build a nuclear warhead. Science cannot tell us whether we should build the damn thing.

Thus it is nutty to invoke science in sound. Science is great for helping people figure out how to build better components. It is great because science does so much to eliminate the effects of value judgments. But then when the component is built how do we decide if it is any good or not? On the basis of value judgments.

That is why science will always be a beginning and never the end.

Interestingly enough, when someone insists on measurement as the be-all I often times find myself thinking, "Measurement. What a tool."

You guys ever read Feynman? Great books. Great stories. One of em, whole bunch of top physicists sitting around a table at Los Alamos trying to figure out what is going on. First one nails it. Absolutely nails it. Brilliant. Makes total sense. Feynman is impressed.

Then they go around the table, each one talking about what else it could be. Feynman is puzzled. Can they not see we have the answer? Why are they going on like this? Surely we are not going to pick one of these wrong answers???!

Until when each one is done they all say well it is settled then, the first answer is right. And that is that.

As Feynman said, these were great men. They had the answer, but seriously explored all other possibilities, yet never losing track of the fact they had the answer. So that when they were done everyone was on the same page. Great men indeed.

Terrific story. Don’t know why I thought of it just now. Okay well actually I do.

Bingo!

Not only music either. Many years ago, I want to say 1980’s or maybe 90’s, Japan decided to enter the high end wine market. The full resources of Japanese technology were brought to bear. Gas chromatograph, spectroscopy, every conceivable form of chemistry and agricultural analysis. It was a massive undertaking. Like I said this was a good 30 years ago. Look around. How many premium wines you see from Japan? I drink a fair bit, 8 cases or so in the cellar, can’t think of a one.

Saki, different story. In a world we like to think has shrunk into bland conformity the truth is you can go country to country and find Russia/vodka, Mexico/tequila, Jamaica/rum, and so on. Not for lack of trying. Helluva lot of money to be made selling premium American tequila, yet the biggest "tequila" Jose Cuervo is actually gin with coloring and flavor added.

Not to change the subject, just trying to make the same point another way. Science is a way of figuring out how things work. All the science and technology is no guarantee you ever will figure it out. Oh sure maybe some day. Probably there is some as yet undiscovered yeast or protein that explains why the sparkling wines produced in the Champagne region of France are better, and why Dom is superior even among champagne. Then again maybe not.

Point being, don’t jump the gun. There are no grounds on which to say "science is incapable" that makes about as much sense as saying a car is incapable of getting you to work. It is totally capable. But you do have to drive it, and it does take time.

Holy crap! This should be easy. Why am I not surprised nobody gets it???! 

Why is science just a starting point and not an end point? 

Because science is a METHOD not a RESULT!  

Science properly understood does not fail at all. That is like saying Newton "failed" because he didn't know what happens at relativistic velocities around black holes. Science is the method that helped us discover and understand both Newtonian and Einsteinian physics.  

The fact we can reliably hear things we cannot reliably measure is no failure of science. The fact so many lack a firm grasp on what science even means indicates what has truly failed is our system of public education. Now there we have a genuine and profound total fail.