Out of all the negatives aspects of cell phone usage...the one that I think is the worst, is how much it has elevated social rudeness.
But that's not really to do with cell phones or even their usage as much as it is to do with
people. I have a friend who used to say much of the time "any excuse for a party !" I think new technology {ie, post 2000} has been utilized as an excuse by many people to unleash the shit that's in them and hang everyone else. But people did things like that before, smoking on buses and trains {of which I was guilty up to 1984}, ruffling coats and chairs when entering a meeting late, blasting boom boxes in the park etc.
So preference doesn't need to always be based on science for anyone to decide which choice is better.
I don't think preference ever needs to be based on science for someone to decide which is better. The key here is in that term "better." Is it being used objectively or subjectively ? Quite often science is brought into the equation in an attempt to demonstrate that the thing one is championing is
objectively better. And that's what really starts so many of these internet arguments that go on for years and show no signs of abating. By trying to parade one's choice as objectively better, there is an unsaid but much louder implication that other items/pieces of equipment are inferior. It actually happens on both sides of many arguments.
I know you want more than just someone's preference to be convinced that A is better than B...but if 100 people prefer A and one person prefers B...
...does it really matter if analytically/scientifically it can't be proven than A is better than B...?
Only if the 100 people are insistent that A is objectively better rather than just admit that it's their preference and
they find it better. I mean, were Black Sabbath "better" than Budgie ? One made it, one didn't. One was hugely popular, one wasn't. One is endlessly written about and recognized as innovators, the other isn't.
If one goes through the archives of this forum, there are thousands of threads in which one sees this "my****** is better than your******" viewpoint whether it be a recording medium, instrument, technique or whatever with so much technoweight behind it to justify the position but actually a lot less actual subjective championing of one's preference of their chosen medium, equipment, technique etc. For me, RFR summed it up when he said
I like working with tape. Don't need any reasons, justifications, tech specs or anything. I just like it. If you like working in a certain medium, creation is more of a joy.
That’s good enough
I found the OP to pretty much be the opposite to that.
Analog tape is a medium, but it most definitely imparts something to the audio...used in a specific "range", what it imparts has generally been a favorable preference to most people using it...likewise, so does a lot of quality analog gear. It has a technical use, but it simultaneously acts like audio spice
I absolutely agree with that. It's therefore not objectively "better" any more than the digital medium is objectively better. They're different and we know why we like those differences.
Now...do you like your stew flavored with some appropriate spice...or just plain boiled meat and veggies?
Which is "better" to you?
It's funny you should say that because I like both. For decades, I've had this long running argument with friends about seasoning meat or fish. I would happily chuck a piece of lamb or kangaroo or mackerel or salmon or whatever in the oven and when ready, eat it just like that, no spices or seasoning and some would say "how can you eat that tasteless shit without seasoning ?" and I would say that actually, the meat/fish
has got its own flavour and sometimes by spicing it up
all it tastes of is the spice. Same with veg. It depends on the veg but there are lots of vegetables that I can cook as is and eat without adding spices, onions, garlics, peppers, plantains, yams, sweet potatoes, ginger, potatoes, mushroom etc.
Equally, I'll sometimes cook with all those and spices and mixed herbs and honey and various wines. I like a varied palette !