Quote:
Originally Posted by Type R
With regards to light, I think scientists measure various properties of the signal to determine its weakness. That's how they determine "light years" even though two signals arrive at a space lab at the same time.
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Upon further thought, I realize that even humans/animals do the above. The quality of sound deteriorates as it travels through air (attenuation). The degree of loss is in proportion to the frequency - the higher the frequency, the greater the signal loss. That is why, when there is a party in your neighbourhood, or when a matatu passes in front of your home, you hear the bass primarily. We instinctively analyze the quality of the sound and based on prior experience, we automatically place a distance to the source. So if your friend A stood near you and called "Grip!" and somehow friend B one kilometre away shouted "Grip!" in such a manner that sounds arrived at you simultaneously, the quality of the sound would be a factor in determining distance.
On the other hand, I don't doubt that our 5 senses are susceptible to illusions and errors, even with inbuilt/learned cross-checking mechanisms. In any case, all of our understandings involve errors (just like all physical measurements - length, volume). The question is whether those errors have favourable or catastrophic effects.