kautz@allegra.att.com (Henry Kautz) (03/19/91)
The latest issue of The Skeptical Inquirer (vol 15, #5) has an article entitled "Hi-Fi Audio Pseudoscience", summarizing the "magic and mysticism" that are "alive and well in the world of high-fidelity audio". The Skeptical Inquirer is an excellent magazine, dedicated to investigating and (inevitably) debunking stories about UFOs, ESP, channeling, creation "science", and much more. The number to order subscriptions and back issues is 800 634-1610 (in NY state, 716 834-3222).
wmartin@STL-06SIMA.ARMY.MIL (Will Martin) (04/12/91)
I went to the library over lunchtime today and read that Skeptical Inquirer article. By the way, it is in Vol 15 #3, not #5 -- the Spring '91 issue. It is very short, and basically consists of about 4 small pages of quotes from high-end-audio mags like Stereophile and TAS, along with some comments to the general effect of "this is obviously nonsense", and a half-page of footnotes citing the sources. Rather disappointing, actually. For example, ol' Auntie Enid Lumley isn't even mentioned; she'd be worthy of an article all by herself! The magic clocks are mentioned briefly, but most of the emphasis is on CD treatment fluids, ink, dampers, etc. It's just too superficial, in my view. The subject deserves a lot greater depth, but I guess the problem is that the Skeptical Inquirer audience would be too unfamiliar with the field. To really appreciate a detailed study of the topic would require that the reader have a background of years of reading the underground audio press, and those of us who have done this are probably so "contaminated" with repeated exposure to the kind of ideas expressed therein that we could not step back far enough to be completely objective. We'd always tend to say "Yes, but..." since we've seen concepts which at first appeared to be insane turn out to be real and significant (or at least we now *believe* they are :-). I wonder if there are other hobbyist/enthusiast fields which have such a press and a coterie of writers espousing viewpoints the "outside" world would find incomprehensible? Are there underground auto or photography magazines? Hmmm... Maybe film enthusiasts have a subculture like this? Regards, Will wmartin@stl-06sima.army.mil