@waytoomuchstuff Some of us gravitate toward the mess that is art. Some of us gravitate toward the precision that is science. Are you compelled to precisely figure things out? Or is it okay to get enough info to be able to intellectually/emotionally fill in the cracks? To make 2+2 equal 2000?

@edcyn

Excellent points. I like your train of thought.

These are personal questions, so I’ll do my best keep my comments relative to the subject.

I played guitar and keyboard, and wasn’t very good at either one. I developed a fond admiration for those who could actually play well and was awed by their talent. I took music appreciation in college and learned to grasp the complexity of classical music. It did change how I viewed other genres as well. So, music as "art" has been part of me for a very long time.

I was a bit "geeky" and wanted know how things worked. I did well in college physics classes and thought seriously about becoming a math/science teacher. After a few unexpected turns I opened a hifi store, and later found a way to earn a speaker patent on what I designed and built. So, I am "compelled to figure things out."

I also understand that my knowledge base is incomplete. I stand with a engineer/reviewer of decades past who was quite comfortable taking the position that he could not explain in engineering terms what he was hearing. So, that may best describe me. I’ll do my best to try to analyze what I hear in scientific terms. But, if I can’t figure it out, it in no way invalidates my listening experience.

This thread says absolutely NOTHING!!!

That comment, though, says quite a lot, doesn't it? 

So I'm a Master Sommelier. I studied 9 years to pass the exam in 2014. Since then I've run wineries, worked in the vineyards, owed restaurants and retail wine shops and teach about wine around the world. I've worked/studied/observed wine from every angle and it's fair to say I probably know more about the subject than 99.236% of the entire population. That said, when I'm teaching my main goal is to try and instill humility into my students because first and foremost we are in the service industry and wine much like high-end audio can quickly devolve into douchebaggery. 

I was at another, informal wine tasting last night and along with the usual tasting, the owner did three blind tastes with the crowd. After pouring, he asks if it's new or old world, going from person to person. Then he asks what country, province or state it came from followed by what the varietal is. It's all done aloud and rather fun to do. 

Doing it that way, I see no angle where confirmation bias resides as it's a blind tasting. One can will it to be something but it won't make it so. Case in point: on the second round I got it right with it being new world. I also got it right with it being from California. Where I messed up with is I changed my mind as to the type of grape. When I first smelled and tasted it, my inner self said clearly, this is a Cab. But the more I discussed it as the pours continued, the more I started to doubt it and came up with some lame rationalizations as to why. I even said it was a Cab and then asked if it was okay to change my mind, which the owner allowed (with a look I'll never forget) and said it was a Merlot. 

The point is, confirmation bias ain't gonna make it so. That, and although a nice analogy at first blush, wine tasting involves two senses with smell being the strongest of any of our senses when it comes to invoking memories, and you can't really taste all that well without a great sense of smell. Our hearing only involves one sense, which is further down the ladder when it comes to invoking and recalling memories as it was initially meant to keep us safe and tells us where to look.

We've only learned at a later stage of our development to enjoy sounds and relate to what pleases us. First and foremost, it's the type of music that draws us in and not its accurate reproduction. That comes later. Take any properly sorted out system and music we don't like will not appeal to us. It would be very difficult to determine if a system was better sounding listening to music we don't like or are unfamiliar with. It has to be music we enjoy and then refining the system can start.

You can rationalize away guessing the correct wine, despite knowing deep down what it is, but I can't see someone doing the same when it comes to listening to something and choosing the wrong, inferior sounding set up. A different set of  variables are involved. We don't listen the same way we taste.

All  the best,
Nonoise