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June 26, 2009
Astonishing fact
“The temporal resolution of our vision,” said Barbara Shinn-Cunningham of Boston University, “is an order of magnitude slower than what our auditory system can cope with.”When an Ear Witness Decides the Case
On the other hand, if vision didn't work this way, movies would require 10 times as much film and 10 times faster cameras and projectors. This would mean vastly brighter lighting on film, faster film emulsions, and wider aperture lenses. All of these factors may have prevented motion picture technology from being invented or delayed or prohibited its commercial adaption. Same deal for computer monitors. Imagine if CRT needed 600htz refresh rates instead of 60htz to avoid users noticing flickering. That would have severely impeded the adoption of graphical user interfaces for computers.
I'm used to thinking of my vision as my best sense. Deeper reflection suggests that it is only the best in distinguishing certain kinds of information. The superior ability of hearing to distinguish speed, smell to evoke memory, touch to provide unidirectional information suggests that there really isn't a best sense.
Posted by OneEyedMan at June 26, 2009 3:27 PM
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