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A Serious Proposal that could result in a counter productive message and criminal charges

thetubeguy1954,

Producing devices that a maker believes to be fraudulent at a cheaper rate seems to me a recipe for a counter productive message and probably legal trouble.

In doing so, the message- that these devices are ineffective and a waste of money would be countered by the effort to promote them. In order to sell them, the maker would have to make the same or similar claims as to their effectiveness or face a charge of fraud- intentionally selling something that the maker doesn't believe to work. You may have noticed that the makers of such devices will continually assert their effectiveness while refusing to ever explain the devices operation scientifically. This means that they are promoting and selling something they believe to be effective. In fact, the mysterious and vehement promotion is a mechanism to establish a kind of unquestioning faith in the devices necessary for their effectivenes.

As well, do you know if these devices have patents that could be subject to infringement lawsuits?

The other problem with your scheme is that while I find these devices silly in some ways, I can't deny they could be effective. There are numerous testaments to these that can't all be dismissed. My explanation of their function is as contemplative objects that focus attention away from the sound and then refocus concentration on subtle aspects of the sound- they are manipulating a higher critical level in the user by the expectation of change. This is the way placebos work too- they are faith-based- a belief in the function without understanding of the mechanism of the function. Religion is another example of a placebo, as faith in the divine function must be accepted without question and the sales techniques- the promotion - is also similar.

I would be far more interested in a proposal to make a scientific test of these devices under controlled circumstances: see if there are any measurable emissions, have completely uninformed people listen to them in double blind blind tests and then listen again informed and so on. Demystifying and exposing their function in a systematic, scientific way would be a more effective way to educate the audio consumer should you feel this is necessary. I believe such an investigation could reveal important psychological aspects of critical listening beyond the devices.

You may be interested in my September, 2008 thread on this subject in Critics:

http://db.audioasylum.com/cgi/m.mpl?forum=critics&n=40056&highlight=Phuzzy&r=

In this thread please note geoffkaitt's post, "Thanks for proving you're a cretin", a badge of honour which I hope he will give me permission to use as a jacket blurb on my upcoming book on particle physics. This includes an essay on quantum mechanics in popular culture, focusing on the controversy over Black Holes at CERN and the use of particle quasi-science in consumer items, which I may title "Artificial Atoms" in reference to the Genius Watches and Smart Rocks.


Cheers,

Bambi B



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