We often talk on here about whether expensive/hard to obtain pipes and tobaccos are objectively better than cheaper options. I know there are people firmly entrenched in both camps on here, and I tend to find myself somewhere in no-man's land on the issue.
However, I'm reading a book entitled Cork Dork by Bianca Bosker, which concerns the world of wine. Her words here immediately put me in mind of the pipe world:
I'd love to hear what the rest of y'all think about this.
However, I'm reading a book entitled Cork Dork by Bianca Bosker, which concerns the world of wine. Her words here immediately put me in mind of the pipe world:
I am skeptical about scientific studies until I have a chance to read the methodology, but I find this very interesting. People in the "cheap can be good too" camp sometimes suggest that those with tastes for Balkan Sobranie in an Eltang are just pretending to get more from the experience than a cob full of Carter Hall. But it may well be that their brains are really experiencing more pleasure just by knowing the rarity and expense of their smoking materials.Researchers at Stanford University and CalTech put subjects in an fMRI machine and had them taste five bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon priced from $5 to $90 each. The tasters predictably panned the cheap $5 and $10 wines, while applauding the pricier $35, $45, and $90 bottles, which made their brains' pleasure centers go nuts with glee. But there was a twist: The bottle that cost $5 had been served a second time, disguised as a $45 wine, and the $10 wine had actually been poured from the $90 bottle. The supermarket swill was deplorable when it cost $5, and divine when accompanied by a $45 price tag.
The scientists concluded that our brains derive pleasure not only from what we experience-- those aromatic molecules tickling our noses and tongues. Rather we're delighted by what we expect we'll perceive. In other words, all that careful attention to flavors, aging, and vintages could, for some tasters, be overshadowed just by saying a $50 Chardonnay is really a two-buck chuck. Knowing my Latour cost $275 might have enhanced its flavor as much as the oak barrels it was aged in.
I'd love to hear what the rest of y'all think about this.