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Debate on Masters results

Rather than respond individually to all the postings about the Masters
results, I thought I'd cut & paste bits into just one posting.

It never ceases to amaze me that perfectly intelligent people can
nevertheless fail to grasp the idea that opinions are not facts. For
example:

>From Jeremy Wise:

>Rumours abound that there is a huge difference of opinion and some funny
placings.

There is no such thing as a 'funny' opinion.  Just a different one.

It amazes me even more that these same people appear to believe that just
because a majority share an opinion, that in some way converts the opinion
into fact.  It does not.  For example:

>From Jeremy Wise:

>The general opinion yesterday seemed to be that YBS had clearly won...

The general opinion is utterly immaterial.  All that matters is the opinions
of the adjudicators.  If you don't like being judged on the opinion of two
or three people I can think of one simple answer - don't go to the contest.
It isn't compulsory, you know!  I suppose you could consider another
lister's (sorry, I've deleted the posting) suggestion
that the audience could judge the contest, but as the audience consists
almost entirely of the members of other bands and their supporters I can
imagine that the charge of bias would not be far from the surface- and from
every quarter!  You'd never hear the last of it!!

Worse still is the implications of the following comment:

>From Jeremy Wise (again - sorry Jeremy, it's nothing personal, it's just
that you seem to have distilled a number of contentious issues into a very
small space!!):

>This (the Swiss adjudication system) eliminates the unusual opinions for or
against a >performance and produces a consensus.

Consensus?  In music?? God help us that such a tragedy should occur.
Consensus will be the death of music - as with everything from life
downwards, it is diversity, not consensus,  which ensures survival.

>From David Johnson:

>Contests finally became a joke today...

Wrong.  Contests have always been a joke - or at least, those contests in
which the protagonists believe that music can be judged quantitatively and
that there are 'right' and 'wrong' opinions.


And finally, from Norm Harris:

>... band contests are subjective and will always be a lottery. Look at the
>diverse opinions on a variety of subjects within this list.  , "It's one
(2,3,4,5) persons >opinion on a given day according to THEIR values and
criteria."

Amen to that.

>Maybe someday the contest organizers might ask the intended adjudicator to
>submit for public scrutiny, their criteria of assessment.

Why leave it to the contest organiser?  It has always baffled me why bands,
if they insist on contesting, don't telephone or write to the adjudicator
before the event and *ask* him what he will be looking for in the
performance.  It would save a lot of wasted effort.  Or is this against some
idiotic rule or other?  I've never heard of such a rule.

Just a few more thoughts.

Best wishes

Alec

________________________
Alec Gallagher
alec@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


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