Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!columbia!heathcliff.columbia.edu!zdenek From: zdenek@heathcliff.columbia.edu (Zdenek Radouch) Newsgroups: sci.med Subject: Re: tone deafness? Message-ID: <3808@columbia.UUCP> Date: Mon, 10-Nov-86 19:03:21 EST Article-I.D.: columbia.3808 Posted: Mon Nov 10 19:03:21 1986 Date-Received: Mon, 10-Nov-86 22:07:22 EST References: <2376@bu-cs.bu-cs.BU.EDU> Sender: nobody@columbia.UUCP Reply-To: zdenek@heathcliff.columbia.edu.UUCP (Zdenek Radouch) Followup-To: sci.med Distribution: net Organization: Columbia University CS Department Lines: 31 In article <2376@bu-cs.bu-cs.BU.EDU> gasp@bu-cs.BU.EDU (Isaac Kohane) writes: >There is evidence that just as perfect pitch is inherited, tone deafness >is too. It is not psychological, but indeed physiological. The experience >in training such individuals is mixed at best. Given that we don't completely understand the mechanism of hearing and that we can only guess, how the information is processed in the brain, I'm really surprised to hear that there is an "evidence" that absolute pitch (perfect pitch) is inherited. What's that evidence? I'm convinced that the mechanism of absolute pitch is not understood. As a result of having done some work in acoustics and being an amateur musician for many years I know, that the ability to distinguish high and low frequencies depends on training. Also note that there is no explicit definition of what "absolute pitch" is. I am not sure how one can claim that there is any evidence for a phenomenon that is not understood, especially in the cases of activities related to human brain. zdenek ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Men are four: He who knows and knows that he knows, he is wise - follow him; He who knows and knows not that he knows, he is asleep - wake him; He who knows not and knows that he knows not, he is simple - teach him; He who knows not and knows not that he knows not, he is a fool - shun him! zdenek@CS.COLUMBIA.EDU or ...!seismo!columbia!cs!zdenek Zdenek Radouch, 457 Computer Science, Columbia University, 500 West 120th St., New York, NY 10027