Not always. If one picture has double the resolution of another, some people might be able to tell the difference and some might not, and in those cases, it's subjective, like you say. But now double the resolution again. And again, and again, until human's are incapable of noticing the...
Because you can't see the difference between 4k and full HD (unless you're really close to a massive screen).
It's nothing at all like that, as an HD picture looks much better than an SD picture at standard sizes and viewing distances.