Xref: utzoo rec.audio:8781 sci.electronics:4173
Newsgroups: rec.audio,sci.electronics
Path: utzoo!henry
From: henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: Extracting Mono from Stereo
Message-ID: <1988Oct29.234044.15343@utzoo.uucp>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
References: <343@ivucsb.UUCP> <3902@homxc.UUCP> <353@ivucsb.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 29 Oct 88 23:40:44 GMT

In article <353@ivucsb.UUCP> todd@ivucsb.UUCP (Todd Day) writes:
>_The man wants to solve two equations for 3 unknowns:
>...  Can't in general be done.
>
>Well, then, how come your ears solve that equation everytime you listen
>to stereo?

Note the words "in general".  Your brain (not your ears) applies quite a
bit of processing power to make sense out of what it's hearing.  Once it
has done so, it has enough extra information to solve the problem.  It
couldn't do this for random input; the extra information is available
only because the input "makes sense".  Duplicating this process with
electronics doesn't sound easy to me.
-- 
The dream *IS* alive...         |    Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
but not at NASA.                |uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry@zoo.toronto.edu