LL is a favorite read of mine, but I have never entered the Forum until now. The "Everything Matters" essay finally got me. It's been a long time since I read such a lot of 'woo' in one article. I find it difficult to argue with the idea that everything matters, but Mark's comments on wine and hi-fi are completely off the wall.
First of all, I can't tell the difference between mediocre and a fine wine (I might do if it were Thunderbird vs. Chateau Lafitte) because I don't drink. Thus, his statement that everyone can is an instant fail. One must assume that appreciating photography entails experience and education on the viewer's part, just as in appreciating wine. Bad analogy.
Secondly, I am a life-long student of classical music, attend all kinds of concerts, and even play an instrument myself. Thus I can cheerfully say that in spite of all my experience (as opposed to its lack regarding wine) I cannot hear the differences Mark describes when changing a power cable. I do believe that he could convince friends, but that is not a true test. As with all the claims about analog vs digital, Monster Cables vs Radio Shack and titanium pyramids placed under your CD player to eliminate distortion (that one was pulled on me at a fairly reputable high-end store), I urge Mark to link to some real scientific test that proves his point. People can easily be fooled into buying an audio system that "sounds better" simply because the salesman has turned up the volume a bit. I have never seen any of these golden ear claims proven.
Finally, the photo examples of medium-format vs small format are of no value at all. It only proves that the better reduced-size photo was taken with a medium format camera. It does not prove that medium format cameras take better photos, although I believe they do. It's just that this "test" is pointless. My dog is prettier than your cat, therefore all cats are ugly. Sheesh.
In short, the amount of foolishness in this article reduces Mark's credibility to the single digits and I'll never be able to read anything of his without wondering what's really going on.