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essay1964

Circularity in Judgments of Relative Pitch

Disciplines:
psychology
physics/acoustics

Summary

A 1964 scientific paper by Roger Shepard introducing the auditory illusion now called the Shepard tone.

Core Contribution

Introduced the Shepard tone to scientific literature, establishing the auditory impossible staircase that Hans Zimmer later deployed in Nolan's film scores.

Key Spikes & Highlights

  • Transitivity violation (the paper demonstrates that the logical property of pitch judgment breaks down for Shepard tones, creating a paradox analogous to Escher's impossible staircase)

Historical Influences

No recorded historical influences.

Intellectual Lineage

Psychoacoustics Experimental psychology

Allied Works

Gödel, Escher, Bach Dunkirk score

Contemporaries & Peers

No recorded contemporaries.

Minds Influenced

No recorded minds influenced.

Intellectual Posterity

Shepard tone as film scoring device

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