Growing Points in Multichannel Communication

Abstract

The numerous experiments on multi-channel listening allow certain broad conclusions: that the listener has a limited capacity, that therefore much of the information presented to him is discarded, and that this discarding is made easier when the signals to be ignored share certain physical characteristics which the desired signals do not have. These conclusions suggest further lines of advance. The same speech signals may interfere with each other more when they are chosen from a larger ensemble. This implies that the information content must be considered. In addition, momentary peaks of information are handled by a curious form of immediate memory in the listener.