Robert McGinley Myers:
For me it started with a simple search for better headphones. I think I typed “best headphones under $50” into Google, and what came back was a series of lists, like this one or this one, ranking the best headphones at a series of price ranges. I settled on a pair pretty quickly, and when they arrived I loved them, but those lists had planted their hooks in my brain. How much better would my music sound if I were willing to spend just a little bit more?
A fantastic read on the placebo effect on everything from sound gear to wine to alternative medicine. Via Marco.org, who wrote this week about his own search for better coffee and headphones.