That, though, is the essence of anecdotal assessments.
Anecdotal evidence is a factual claim relying only on personal observation, collected in a casual or non-systematic manner.
It doesn’t matter how many people observe it - or think that they do - it is still anecdotal. People who experience cable burn in are the most vocal about it - people who don’t experience it are less likely to say so. So you have a self-selecting group that say that they can hear such burn-in.
But even if you ignore this bias in the data gathering, you still have the problem that those who say they hear cable burn in attribute it to physical changes in the cable - without really knowing what those changes are or demonstrating that those - or any - changes occur. Knowledge - particularly scientific knowledge - cannot rely upon such evidence (“I heard it, so it must be due to a change in the cable”). We’d be in a right mess if we did. At most, it says “there may be a phenomenon here that is worth exploring”. I have not come across any proper exploration of this, so far.
Exactly - that is what @litemotiv said - they are anecdotal accounts of change and ‘burn in’. Whether there ia any actual ‘burn in’ or its due to other affects or influences (such as mechanical, contact connection, familiarisation etc) is not known - hence these are anecdotal accounts.
Therefore @litemotiv was completely correct.
In 2011, Indian guru Sathya Sai Baba died, he had around 6 million followers including top Indian politicians, industrialists, tycoons, Bollywood stars and sportsmen such as famous cricketer Sachin Tendulkar.
During his life he was reported to have performed countless of miracles, including healings, levitations, and the transformation of materials. Many of these miracles were directly witnessed by thousands of his followers, as can be seen in the video below.
Do you believe that Sai Baba could actually perform miracles? Or is it possible that there are other explanations for these phenomena conceivable as well?
Worth a read:
Cable burn in, then cable burn out.
With my Tachyon Amplifier I can test both before and after, with a test before the before and after the after.
There’s absolutely nothing in common between an experience reported by thousands and thousands of people who just share their experience, have no relationships between each other, observe a same phenomenon with so many different cables , inside so many different systems, and thousands of people who need to catch on a belief and share a devotion. You can’t compare.
The cable burn in is observed on so many forums, by so many different people, that it can’t be anecdotal. At least I understand “anecdotal “ as a very marginal phenomenon, insignificant.
It’s not because, you guys, are more scientific guys than me and some here that your observations are right. Some humility would be welcome sometimes.
That’s not the case. In science, anecdotal evidence is well defined, and its value (which is not zero) and its limitations are well known. It’s why I wrote that the Wikipedia article is worth a read.
I think it can very well be compared and has much to do with each other. The followers of Sai Baba also often have no relationship with each other and are just watching Youtube videos where other people share their experiences.
That’s what I think when people act as if their audiocerebral system was an objective measurement device
But anectodal means “word of mouth” - it does not mean marginal, or only a few people, or anything to do with sharing a devotion. It simply means people (however many) describing something with no supporting, independent, evidence. And science simply cannot base anything on that - apart from an impetus to examine the phenomenon carefully. It’s not a question of humility - we really cannot rely on anecdotal evidence - it is unreliable, no matter how many people are involved.
Do you believe in UFOs being alien spacecraft? Crop circles being made by alien beings? Governments controlling our minds? Fairies at the bottom of your garden? Mind reading? Presumably you must believe in all these things, and more.
…actually, the question really does not need an answer (although, I am a firm believer in the concept of knowledge for its own sake).
Most of us will use our cables for > 100 hours.
It does not matter whether they have been through a burn- in change.
As long as you like the music, all is well.
Partially, yes. But without a doubt, there is much interest in establishing the “if” and exploring the “why”, as is to be expected in such a hobby that in itself can only exist because of science on one hand and curious exploration by enthusiasts on the other. It’s also part of the reason why forums like this exist.
You’re at it again, ridiculing those with a different opinion to you. At the end of the day, this is all about people’s opinions but some want to force others to think the same way and if they don’t… well, we get the above.
Beachcomber’s point is that all of these things are claimed to exist or have been experienced by people who have no relationships between each other and observe a same phenomenon. So obviously this is not sufficient
Maybe, but it comes over as patronising and belittling because the person had a different point of view to them.
That to me suggest he is saying if you believe in burn in you believe in all the nonsense quotes.
Anyway, far easier to say, well, we’ll have to agree to disagree. Which ultimately is how I’ll leave it.
That’s not how science works, it’s not a matter of opinion, and it’s certainly not personal.
We are having a conversation about what it is that constitutes useful data and evidence. If someone says that it is sufficient if many people believe to have experienced something, then presenting examples where this is clearly not the case is a valid argument and not belittling anyone.
Apparently I had not the right meaning for anecdotal, that I thought it was a same meaning as “ anecdote “ in french. In french, anecdote means : Fact of marginal nature, relating to one or more people, unpublished or little known, to which one can attach a meaning, but which remains incidental to the essential: Historical story that gets lost in the anecdote …
As for thinking that I believe in UFO, aliens…it’s nonsense and absolutely not in common vs what I said.
I believe, when listening to music, only in MY EARS. I had many many different cables in my system and always observed a changing in sound after several hours. The same for cartridges, amplifiers, switches…
ITS NOT A BELIEF.
Can I prove that I am right, as thousands of other people? No
Can you prove I am wrong? No
I don’t see how I am ridiculing anyone. Perhaps you could explain it to me.
The things I mentioned are all anecdotal evidence from people who are not related by a common belief system, but say that they have seen things that other have not. It is exactly the same situation as a belief in cable-burn in - those who report it have no supporting evidence to support their claims (and no-one else has found any such evidence). Explain to me what the difference is between the evidence from people who believe they have experienced cables burning in, and those who believe that they have seen UFOs (and explained them by saying that they are alien spacecraft), or those who have seen crop circles (which certainly exist) and say those have been created by alien craft. Why is one lot of anecdotal evidence (cable burn in) proof of a phenomenon, while other anecdotal evidence (UFOs are alien spacecraft) is not proof. I genuinely do not see what the difference is.
In both cases:
- Some people report seeing/experiencing the phenomenon
- no other evidence is provided.
This does not constitute proof of either the existence of the phenomenon, or (for sure) the mechanism of the phenomenon.
This is why anecdotal evidence is of little value - as I said before, at best it provides some hint that there may be something worth investigating.
So in what way was what I said ridiculing anyone? I merely point out that the level of proof is similar in all those cases.
I have already pointed that it’s not sufficient.
As to comment the UFO and Alien beliefs, I prefer not, because it’s so ridiculous that i prefer to not bother.
Yet they are observed by thousands of people each year, independently of one another, and with no reason to lie about it.
Also:
If thousands of independent people reporting aliens are not sufficient, then it is also not sufficient if people have “an experience reported by thousands and thousands of people who just share their experience, have no relationships between each other, observe a same phenomenon with so many different cables”