ABSTRACT
Arguments advanced first by Georg von Bekesy in developing a quantum theory of discrimination led to the wholesale adoption of von Bekesy’s theory by Stanley S. Stevens, Morgan, and Volkmann. The sensory effect E produced by a background intensity I varies from moment to moment over a considerable range. At one stage in the auditory system the precise value of E is preserved, but at another, the only information available is whether E exceeds one or another criterion value, designated neural quanta. The puzzle of Neural Quantum Theory is that the data, particularly those collected by Stevens, conform well to the incorrectly derived prediction that the Psychometric Function for detecting a difference greater than the background level of stimulation should be linearly increasing. During World War II sensitive new electronic listening devices were developed that taxed the human sensory system’s ability to detect small differences in sensation.
