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In Reply to: RE: A comparison is not a tu quoque. posted by Pat D on June 19, 2008 at 02:44:16
When a DBT confirms that a difference is audible, then there is no problem at all with it. No problem with sensitivity. No need for calibration. Indeed, when someone passes a DBT test any reasonable person would accord that as a better proof that the subject actually heard the difference than if the person had merely said, "I heard a difference."
The problem comes when the DBT gives a null result. At this point, the result is nothing. Just that, nothing. It does not prove that the listener failed to hear anything. And if it doesn't prove that the listener didn't hear anything, it certainly doesn't shed light on why the listener didn't hear anything. Nor does it prove that a listener who claimed in a sighted test to hear something and who failed a subsequent blind test is biased or delusional.
If subtle effects are audible only occasionally, then small sample DBTs will give false nulls (type II error). Consequently, one needs to have much larger samples than typically used in amateur DBTs. This is not practical with a single subject due to fatigue and may not be practical due to cost considerations if multiple subjects are required. Also, if multiple subjects are required then unless they are qualified as to skill (talent, training and experience) the results will be relevant only to the average listener, and not the more critical listeners, such as those presently decrying DBTs in this forum.
The above discussion has been more about logic and statistics than about hearing and its effect on the mind. Hearing and its effect on the mind is a far more complex and interesting subject, in my opinion. As commonly conducted, DBTs assume that people either hear something or they don't. This is making the implicit assumption that the mind is unitary, i.e. there is just the conscious mind that takes the test. However, consciousness is more complex than that and there are subconscious levels of the mind. It is possible that these portions of the mind can perceive subtle sounds that do not normally make it to the conscious mind. If these portions of the mind affect human emotions, then it is possible for musical enjoyment to be affected by subtle sounds that will not be detected by a typical DBT. For those who consider this to be mere speculation, there is brain research that shows by brain scans that portions of the brain can detect sounds before portions of the brain generally associated with consciousness are activated.
Tony Lauck
"Perception, inference and authority are the valid sources of knowledge" - P.R. Sarkar
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