From: Harry Fearnhamm Subject: Re: 3-D Sound imaging systems (a clarification) Date: Tue, 3 Dec 91 14:04:09 GMT good@baviki.enet.dec.com (Michael Good) writes: good> If I were a subject in one of Beth Wenzel's experiments, I good> suspect I would be one of those people who has a high percentage good> of front-back reversals and difficulty in Z-axis localization. wex@pws.ma30.bull.com (Ren and Stimpy Live.) writes: wex> You'd have lots of company. In conversation with Bill Gaver & wex> Sara Bly at CHI'91 it appears that up to 40% of the population wex> has these problems to one extent or another. Has anyone tried experiments with alltering the pinna model to see if this difficulty can be alleviated? It may be that we have to learn to work with our particular ear shape, and that all such experiments would be doomed, but on the other hand, it may be hard wired, and that using ear shapes that accentuate elevation information would indeed be effective. Given our probable evolutionary path, I'd be inclined to say that elevation information would have become less and less important (without airborne prey/attack), and that we have simply lost the ability. Harry Fearnhamm, ,---.'\ EMAIL: loki@harlqn.co.uk Harlequin Ltd, (, /@ )/ ...!ukc!cam-cl!harlqn!loki Barrington Hall, /( _/ ') VOX: +44 (0)223 872522 Barrington, \,`---' FAX: +44 (0)223 872519 Cambridgeshire, DISCLAIMER: Nothing is True. ENGLAND. Everything is Permitted.