Physical sound measurement cannot capture the subjective semantic meaning of a sonic environment

Evidence

Soundscape description based on physical characteristics seems insufficient to explain the complex relationship between humans and the sonic environment. A semantic approach able to describe the feeling that sounds produce in individuals allows categorizing the cultural and social effects of a subjective sonic environment. Cacophony, hubbub, constant, and temporal are some of the semantic categories in which the different sounds/noise are recognized. — Almo Farina, Soundscape Ecology, 1159

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines the semantic approach and names its concrete categories (cacophony, hubbub) used in method.
• recurring: this claim recurs 3 times within its source
• XREF: connects to: Decibel-based annoyance measurement fails to capture urban sonic quality — Almo Farina, Soundscape Ecology: Principles,…, 949; Judged pleasantness does not track the physical quality of a sound — Almo Farina, Soundscape Ecology: Principles,…, 1078; Whether a sound counts as noise depends on subjective interpretation, not acoustics — Almo Farina, Soundscape Ecology: Principles,…, 1025 (+10 more)

Broader Connections

• Subjective perception of sound cannot be predicted simply from its acoustic components #corroborates (0.92) — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 1609
• Sound as physical event and sound as auditory perception are distinct #expands (0.90) — Ville Pulkki, Matti Karjalainen, Communication Acoustics- An…, 128
• Sonic maps by measured sound pressure fail to capture what a soundscape actually is #exemplifies (0.88) — Almo Farina, Soundscape Ecology, 2247
• Physical accuracy of a sound field does not predict perceived accuracy #corroborates (0.82) — Ville Pulkki, Matti Karjalainen, Communication Acoustics- An…, 1902
• Room acoustics should be described with perceptual rather than physical values #expands (0.82)
• Sound quality cannot be assessed except through psychophysical experiments with human subjects #expands (0.80) — Ville Pulkki, Matti Karjalainen, Communication Acoustics- An…, 2331
• Room acoustics should incorporate psychoacoustic not merely physical metrics #expands (0.80) — Professor Dr.-Ing. Hugo Fastl, Professor Dr.-Ing. Eberhard, Psychoacoustics- Facts and Models, 2055
• Objective sound amplitude measures do not describe perceived loudness. #exemplifies (0.78) — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 605
• Loudness as perception can never be directly measured physiologically #expands (0.75) — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 687