4 ms·

If two wines were chemically identical but someone claimed that one of them tasted “warmer” than the other, would you just go with that?

PascLeRasc 8y ago
Sure. I don't need to invalidate someone else's experience.
- mikeash 8y ago
  What if they were wasting a bunch of money on it and trying to convince others to do the same?
  - PascLeRasc 8y ago
    How is it a waste if it's one person spending their money on something they enjoy? You're not compelled to also do that.
    - mikeash 8y ago
      A reduction in their ignorance would make them enjoy the other choice just as much, but for less money. They’re spending more just because they don’t know the facts. I consider that a waste.
      - PascLeRasc 8y ago
        You're projecting. You think someone doesn't know the facts, but they know for a fact that they personally enjoy some certain wine or speakers or whatever. That's not ignorant.
        mikeash 8y ago
        If the hypothetical person knows that the wines are identical but still buys the more expensive one and enjoys it more, then fine. Does that really happen? Even if they’re ignorant, I don’t care how they enjoy themselves. The problem is when they start writing guides and reviews encouraging others to follow their ignorance.
IWeldMelons 8y ago
The is not the only scenario. How about you made some analysis of two wines and they seem to be same, yet someone can _reliably_ tell them apart?
- mikeash 8y ago
  As long as the test is done with proper blinding, then that means the analysis is insufficiently comprehensive and there really is a difference. Is that the case here?
  - PascLeRasc 8y ago
    Yes, that's what I and the person you responded to are arguing. See this comment [1] and the video I linked for more. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19320093 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19320093 [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlCG2fK-abo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlCG2fK-abo
    - mikeash 8y ago
      Really? I understood your comment as explicitly disavowing blind tests, and I see no mention of them in the comment you linked to. I’m not really inclined to watch a 25 minute video on this. What’s the timestamp of the blind test?

PascLeRasc 8y ago

Sure. I don't need to invalidate someone else's experience.

mikeash 8y ago
What if they were wasting a bunch of money on it and trying to convince others to do the same?
- PascLeRasc 8y ago
  How is it a waste if it's one person spending their money on something they enjoy? You're not compelled to also do that.
  - mikeash 8y ago
    A reduction in their ignorance would make them enjoy the other choice just as much, but for less money. They’re spending more just because they don’t know the facts. I consider that a waste.
    - PascLeRasc 8y ago
      You're projecting. You think someone doesn't know the facts, but they know for a fact that they personally enjoy some certain wine or speakers or whatever. That's not ignorant.
      - mikeash 8y ago
        If the hypothetical person knows that the wines are identical but still buys the more expensive one and enjoys it more, then fine. Does that really happen? Even if they’re ignorant, I don’t care how they enjoy themselves. The problem is when they start writing guides and reviews encouraging others to follow their ignorance.

IWeldMelons 8y ago

The is not the only scenario. How about you made some analysis of two wines and they seem to be same, yet someone can _reliably_ tell them apart?

mikeash 8y ago
As long as the test is done with proper blinding, then that means the analysis is insufficiently comprehensive and there really is a difference. Is that the case here?
- PascLeRasc 8y ago
  Yes, that's what I and the person you responded to are arguing. See this comment [1] and the video I linked for more. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19320093 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19320093 [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlCG2fK-abo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlCG2fK-abo
  - mikeash 8y ago
    Really? I understood your comment as explicitly disavowing blind tests, and I see no mention of them in the comment you linked to. I’m not really inclined to watch a 25 minute video on this. What’s the timestamp of the blind test?