Thursday, September 12, 2019
Y no stereo?
Still in random mode....
A picture of Silvanus Thompson's telephone. His technology was nothing special, and modern writers seem to think he was just playing patent games.
But there's one unique feature:
Two receivers.
We have two ears. Why did successful telephones stick with one receiver, even after the handset incorporated the receiver and mic in one unit? Occupying one ear is tiresome, and leads to unpleasant aftereffects from a long conversation.
On the neural level the two sides of the auditory pathway are not symmetrical for language. Most people end up using the left ear for the phone to leave the right hand free for dialing and writing. The left ear feeds mainly into the right side of the brain, which isn't the best for language. Binaural receivers would give both sides of the brain their proper work assignments as in normal pre-technology conversations.
= = = = =
Later after more perusing: Thompson may not have been much of an inventor, but he was a WONDERFUL writer. His intro to calculus should have become the ONLY book on the subject. Nothing else compares. I wish to hell I'd known about this book and worked through it before ... or instead of ... taking calculus in college.
Two receivers.
We have two ears. Why did successful telephones stick with one receiver, even after the handset incorporated the receiver and mic in one unit? Occupying one ear is tiresome, and leads to unpleasant aftereffects from a long conversation.
On the neural level the two sides of the auditory pathway are not symmetrical for language. Most people end up using the left ear for the phone to leave the right hand free for dialing and writing. The left ear feeds mainly into the right side of the brain, which isn't the best for language. Binaural receivers would give both sides of the brain their proper work assignments as in normal pre-technology conversations.
= = = = =
Later after more perusing: Thompson may not have been much of an inventor, but he was a WONDERFUL writer. His intro to calculus should have become the ONLY book on the subject. Nothing else compares. I wish to hell I'd known about this book and worked through it before ... or instead of ... taking calculus in college.
Labels: Answered better than asked, Asked and badly answered, Experiential education
¶ 10:06 AM
