The 'keep an open mind card'
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There's also a very common misconception that "
keeping an open mind" equates to "n
ot having come to any conclusion." As if we are supposed to be in this never ending state of not assigning probabilities to any proposition.
Which is of course untenable. But they always want you to be in this state For Their Particular Claim (and...so does everyone else making alternative claims).
There is nothing at all "close minded" about having come to a conclusion - whether it's that "X" disease is the cause of some symptoms, or that an expensive AC cable is unlikely to make any sonic difference in most systems. So long as you have good reasons, having decided is perfectly fine.
Where the actual problem of "close mindedness" comes in, therefore, is not in having previously come to a conclusion on the claim put forth, but in being closed to any argument or evidence for the claim. In other words, admitting one could always have been in error: in not being open to changing your mind, if someone puts forth good justification. THAT's the real "close mindedness" problem.
But audiophiles (and people pushing miracle cures and any number of dubious ideas) will always presume dogmatism if someone is already (rightly) skeptical of their claim.
This is one reason why, when talking with pure "subjectivists" I ask them what method they have in place that would change their mind - how could the conclusion, gained by their purely subjective method - be shown to be wrong?
I have NEVER had an answer! And often it's just "I Couldn't Be Wrong." THAT is clearly close-minded, and yet they'll cast the "objectivist" who is open to and seeking evidence as "close minded" because we aren't just immediately accepting their claim.
/rant