Acoustic Sensations

Definition: Any perceptions associated with a sense of hearing or pressure are called acoustic sensations. We describe acoustic sensations using words like; sound, noise, auditory, note, phoneme, monaural, on-the-left, to-the-right, stereophonic, tone, timbre and so on. The somatic perceptions of pressure and touch are also a kind of acoustic sensation.

//Hymnal Leaf//, circa 1700. Archaic Slavonic script and musical notations, 19 x 14 cm.
Hymnal Leaf, circa 1700. Archaic Slavonic script and musical notations, 19 x 14 cm.
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By the third hypothesis, the reference experience for describing acoustic sensation is hearing a human heartbeat. So to make a binary description of an acoustic sensation, compare it to hearing a human heartbeat. Report the result using one of the following algebraic statements.
  • If the two experiences are not comparable, then the sensation is not acoustic. Express this by writing

\mbox{\fontsize{14}{18}\selectfont $ \delta^{*} =0 $}

  • If the sensation is like hearing a heartbeat, then say that it is on the left. Express this as

\mbox{\fontsize{14}{18}\selectfont $ \delta^{*} =+1 $}

  • If the sensation is not like hearing a heartbeat, then say that it is on the right and that

\mbox{\fontsize{14}{18}\selectfont $ \delta^{*} =-1 $}

  • If it is both like and not-like hearing a heartbeat, then it is a composite sensation and

\mbox{\fontsize{14}{18}\selectfont $ -1 < \delta^{*} < 1 $}


Page tags: acoustic auditory hearing heartbeat left noise right
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