Schroeder's Piano

[telescopes]

In the comics when Charlie Brown is seen giving Schroeder his piano, it is impossible to know how the piano will really sound until Schroeder plays it. In the hands of Charlie Brown, it sounds like a toy piano, but when played by Schroeder, it is a virtuoso of a piano.

Was it Schroeder that made the piano sound great, or was there some quality within the piano that makes it sound beautiful?

We argue about the "quality" of pipes and what makes them great. We point out that many Dr. Grabow pipes smoke as well or better than some Dunhill pipes.

It seems to me that the following is true.

It is impossible to know the "quality" of how a pipe smokes until the pipe is smoked. Before the pipe is smoked, it is possible that it will be both a good smoking pipe or a bad smoking pipe.

However, I add a caveat. Depending on who smokes the pipe impacts the "quality" of how the pipe will smoke.

I call this principle, Schroeder's Piano.

It simply means first, it is possible for any given pipe to be both a good smoking pipe or a poor smoking pipe in terms of quality and second, the smoker can not know for certain which it is until it is smoked. The quality of that smoke is also impacted by the observer, that is to say, the smoker. A seasoned veteran of pipe smoking may very well find that a given pipe, let us call it Pipe A, smokes terrible while a different seasoned veteran of pipe smoking will find that Pipe A smokes extremely well.

Therefore, the quality of how a pipe will smoke is unknowable until it is smoked and the perception of that quality is dependent on the person smoking it.

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

You musta smoked a doobie this morning too.

But seriously, nice idea for a thread.

 

[sasquatch]

Ahhh, pluralism and phenomenalism mixed over ice do make a tasty drink, but a guy has to be careful.

Assume Charlie Brown can't play a piano at all, and Shroeder can. To the other kids, Shroeder is a wizard, his simple chords sound good to them. But the takeaway, logically, isn't that the piano is a Steinway - presumably an adult would hear a child playing a child's piano - same as Calvin's parents in "Calvin and Hobbes" see Hobbes as a stuffed tiger.

Back to pipes - an lay person off the street would have no idea how to determine how a pipe is likely to smoke. And even in smoking it, would not be able to offer a useful opinion. The could offer their experience, which would likely be nasty.

But an educated person in this regard, a pipe maker, for example... can mostly look at a pipe, look inside a pipe, and tell you how it will smoke. Naturally, because every pipe maker would otherwise build pipes utterly at random and just... pray, or perform some ritual in order to make it smoke well. No, the "ritual" is careful, considered construction. There's something "real" to know about how pipes work. And yes, the upshot is that a 10 dollar Grabow can absolutely smoke better than a 500 dollar Dunhill, because the price tag has nothing to do, nothing at all, really, with how a pipe smokes. Internal construction is not the price tag. Dunhill's will likely have higher briar quality, and at this point, certainly higher stem material quality than a Grabow. But there's nothing about a Dunhill's construction that makes it a better smoker - I'd argue oppositely from a construction point of view, I think Dunhills suffer from a few obvious defects in build (which is why they ONLY smoke as good as a Grabow, so to speak).
I got a new pipe a few weeks ago, and opening it up, found a little ridge inside the bevel on the tenon, and predicted it would cause problems smoking.





Upon smoking, sure enough, it's an area of build-up (condensate).



This gunk blocked up the airway, made the pipe gurgle. Perhaps a lay person would not know or care, would not assess the pipe the same way I can.

But they'd be wrong. Same as the kids are "wrong" about Schroeder.

Schroeder sucks!

 

[Honkytonk Man]

In the comics when Charlie Brown is seen giving Schroeder his piano, it is impossible to know how the piano will really sound until Schroeder plays it. In the hands of Charlie Brown, it sounds like a toy piano, but when played by Schroeder, it is a virtuoso of a piano.

Was it Schroeder that made the piano sound great, or was there some quality within the piano that makes it sound beautiful?

We argue about the "quality" of pipes and what makes them great. We point out that many Dr. Grabow pipes smoke as well or better than some Dunhill pipes.

It seems to me that the following is true.

It is impossible to know the "quality" of how a pipe smokes until the pipe is smoked. Before the pipe is smoked, it is possible that it will be both a good smoking pipe or a bad smoking pipe.

However, I add a caveat. Depending on who smokes the pipe impacts the "quality" of how the pipe will smoke.

I call this principle, Schroeder's Piano.

It simply means first, it is possible for any given pipe to be both a good smoking pipe or a poor smoking pipe in terms of quality and second, the smoker can not know for certain which it is until it is smoked. The quality of that smoke is also impacted by the observer, that is to say, the smoker. A seasoned veteran of pipe smoking may very well find that a given pipe, let us call it Pipe A, smokes terrible while a different seasoned veteran of pipe smoking will find that Pipe A smokes extremely well.

Therefore, the quality of how a pipe will smoke is unknowable until it is smoked and the perception of that quality is dependent on the person smoking it.

I was expecting you to write that the piano only made a sound when the kids were standing around it.
But that was another guy.....

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

You can play a bad piano well, but it is still a bad piano.

 

[telescopes]

You can play a bad piano well, but it is still a bad piano.

But you don’t know it is a bad piano until you smoke it.

 

[ashdigger]

Schrodinger’s Piano?

 

[telescopes]

Schrodinger’s Piano?

Nope. Think Charlie Brown?

 

[Honkytonk Man]

Schrodinger’s Piano?

That's where I was coming from,

 

[telescopes]

But the concept was certainly borrowed from the Cat in the box.

 

[telescopes]

 

[lukasstrifeson]

You can play a bad piano well, but it is still a bad piano.

I think the philosophical question here is:

Does the quality of the piano matter if you don't know how to play it?

Which, without embarrassing too many members on this forum, is the problem A LOT of people have when it comes to pipe smoking.

How many posts do we have that can be resolved with a simple "Yeah, it's just that your packing/drying technique/smoking cadence is terrible. Get good dummy!"

 

[Alejo R.]

Every pipe must smoke well, otherwise it will be a failed product. Since its function is to allow a person to enjoy tobacco with it. That's a minimum.
The mistake is looking for the quality of a pipe in its ability to smoke. It's like looking for the beauty of a piano performance in the musician's ability to strike the right notes. You will be able to recognize that the piece is correctly played, but you will hardly pay a ticket to listen to that musician.
The quality of a pipe and above all its price are determined by characteristics that are beyond its ability to smoke. As simple as that.

 

[FLDRD]

In the comics when Charlie Brown is seen giving Schroeder his piano, it is impossible to know how the piano will really sound until Schroeder plays it. In the hands of Charlie Brown, it sounds like a toy piano, but when played by Schroeder, it is a virtuoso of a piano.

Was it Schroeder that made the piano sound great, or was there some quality within the piano that makes it sound beautiful?

We argue about the "quality" of pipes and what makes them great. We point out that many Dr. Grabow pipes smoke as well or better than some Dunhill pipes.

It seems to me that the following is true.

It is impossible to know the "quality" of how a pipe smokes until the pipe is smoked. Before the pipe is smoked, it is possible that it will be both a good smoking pipe or a bad smoking pipe.

However, I add a caveat. Depending on who smokes the pipe impacts the "quality" of how the pipe will smoke.

I call this principle, Schroeder's Piano.

It simply means first, it is possible for any given pipe to be both a good smoking pipe or a poor smoking pipe in terms of quality and second, the smoker can not know for certain which it is until it is smoked. The quality of that smoke is also impacted by the observer, that is to say, the smoker. A seasoned veteran of pipe smoking may very well find that a given pipe, let us call it Pipe A, smokes terrible while a different seasoned veteran of pipe smoking will find that Pipe A smokes extremely well.

Therefore, the quality of how a pipe will smoke is unknowable until it is smoked and the perception of that quality is dependent on the person smoking it.

Lots of my pipes smoke better now that I've practiced a bit...

 

[kcghost]

Too philosophical for me. The simple truth is I'd rather listen to a great instrumentalist play a mediocre piano than a hack play a Steinway.

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

But you don’t know it is a bad piano until you smoke it.

Even a bad piano player can have fun playing a bad piano, so can a concert pianist. Same with a good piano. So I assume the same with pipes.

Charles Schulz just injected a fantasy element for the sake of the comic strip.

Even Schroeder played a bad Jimgle Bells in A Charlie Brown Christmas. ?

 

[brian64]

 

[TheIronMonkey]

Schrodinger’s Piano?

It has to stay in the box for that.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Too philosophical for me.

Same, it's just a pipe and you're not really smoking it, you're smoking the chamber and airway. A clear open airway will smoke better than a pipe with an obstructed one. That's why I now only buy pipes from carvers I know.

 

[nolan613]

For me pipe smoking is like whiskey. I find what makes me happy and then enjoy reading the deeper philosophical discussions of why I'm happy while having my Irish Whiskey and smoke. Carry on gentlemen...