[IPodPJ]

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Wasn't talking about the brain. Was talking about the ears. Regardless of the brain, the ears send it a lot less information than one would imagine. While the eardrum can be considered analogous to the diaphragm of a microphone, the similarities end there.
 
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Not really. Yes, they're quite sensitive, but they throw out a tremendous amount of information (in terms of the neural impulses sent to the brain, it's nothing like the output of a microphone) which means the brain must do a tremendous amount of interpretation/interpolation to try and fill in the missing information.
 
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And how can you actually measure the output from the eardrum, to the anvil and hammer (bones), to the nerve cells in the inner ear, to the brain?  Everyone's nerve cells don't pick up all the same frequencies because some nerve cells get damaged over time.  When you finally build a microphone with an ear shaped exterior, a diaphragm that is the same shape and made from the same muscle fibers attached to identically shaped bones as those in our own ears, and can accurately replicate an inner ear and translate the nerve signals into electric signals that can be measured, then we will get a full picture of what the ear is capable of relaying.  Until that point, I don't see how you can since it's limited by damaged nerve cells and/or varying tone maps from person to person.  And what about Fletcher-Munson curves?  That has to be taken into account as well.

 

[IPodPJ]

Quote:

 
I never understood the expression "easier to talk to a wall".  In my experience, I've always found it resoundingly easy to talk to a wall.  It never talks back or interrupts or makes rude/tasteless/condescending remarks.  I can't say the same of other humans.

 
Applause. 

 

[Steve Eddy]

Quote:

And how can you actually measure the output from the eardrum, to the anvil and hammer (bones), to the nerve cells in the inner ear, to the brain?

 
By monitoring the nerve impulses output by the ear when it's driven by an acoustical stimulus.
 
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[sridhar3]

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By monitoring the nerve impulses output by the ear when it's driven by an acoustical stimulus.
 
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Did you know that the ear naturally attenuates sound?  There are two muscles, the Stapedius and the Tensor Tympani, that actually effectively reduce sound coming into the ear!  So, what hits the eardrum isn't necessarily the same as what hits the nerve.

 

[IPodPJ]

And this has been done how, exactly? And when? Results? Charts? Numbers?
 
We have cochlear implants for the deaf but they are far from able to transmit high fidelity sound to the brain.  It's not easy working with nerve cells and re-connecting them. I know that from my own experience having surgery on my pinky finger after slicing it down the middle.  So I'm not sure how any equipment we've built to date is capable of painting a full picture of what the ear actually picks up.
 
Sure, we have hearing tests, but our nerve cells and brains' tone maps get in the way so we don't know what part is responsible for the loss -- the eardrum, the nerve cells, the brain, or all of them.  I have two or three micro-scars on my right eardrum, and certain sound frequencies cause my eardrum to produce a vibration that I can hear.  Sometimes this is painful.  I'm not talking about the normal vibration of the eardrum that allows you to hear, I'm talking about a fluttering sound I get when certain frequencies, like the sound of an alarm clock, cause them to happen.  They don't always occur, but usually do when the sound is coming from a distance.  It usually doesn't occur at closer ranges, like from headphones, though sometimes it does, and when I've listened to headphones at louder volumes for longer durations I'm more susceptible to the fluttering afterwards, for at least several hours.  Fortunately, this only seems to effect my ability to perceive very high frequencies at equal levels to my left ear, but I do notice a difference.  If I had to put it into a percentage, I'd say my right ear can only hear 98% of what my left ear can.  Yet, I can still hear extremely subtle nuances in both ears just fine.  I don't think we have any such instruments that can measure these subtle nuances, but please correct me and show me the data if I'm mistaken.

 

[IPodPJ]

Quote:

 
Did you know that the ear naturally attenuates sound?  There are two muscles, the Stapedius and the Tensor Tympani, that actually effectively reduce sound coming into the ear!  So, what hits the eardrum isn't necessarily the same as what hits the nerve.

 
Exactly.

 

[Grev]

Some of the ridiculous notions are the reasons why this forum is a wasteland and considered to be a joke at times.

 

[sridhar3]

Quote:

Some of the ridiculous notions are the reasons why this forum is a wasteland and considered to be a joke at times.

 
Thank you for your contribution, o' great and wise arbiter of all things sane and right in this world.
 
It's a thread on the intertubes.  You're taking it way too seriously.  Relax.

 

[Grev]

I'm not even taking this seriously, if I did then I would of made serious replies.  Just pointing it out.

 

[IPodPJ]

Quote:

I'm not even taking this seriously, if I did then I would of made serious replies.  Just pointing it out.

 
*would have, or would've.  "Would of" is incorrect.  Just pointing it out.

 

[rhythmdevils]

Or maybe he's showing how unserious he is about taking this thread seriously.  Just pointing it out.  Seriously. 

 

[sridhar3]

I'm enjoying the direction this thread has taken.  That is to say...
 
 

 

[anetode]

That's how the thread started out. No amount of effort is going to get that train back on the tracks.

 

[sridhar3]

Quote:

I don't think he's taking his diction seriously enough.

 
That's what she said.

 

[anetode]

Yeah, and RD beat me to it.

/also what she said