Resonances compete for power as a zero-sum game when crowded together.

Evidence

Perhaps all the overlapping resonances explain the legendary effectiveness of sounding boards: every frequency is enhanced by resonance! However, we already know this idea is quite fallacious, because of the average power theorem (see section 11.2). Resonances rob surrounding regions of power in order to enhance themselves; this translates to a zero-sum game when they crowd together too closely. Apart from fluctuations, a drive delivers power to the board that is the same as if the board were infinite in size and returned no echoes from its edges. — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 1153

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies that overlapping resonances do not simply add; they steal power from neighbors in a zero-sum game.
• XREF: Connects to average power theorem from chapter 11 and to the reader’s broader interest in why sound perception works as it does. — connects to: Most people treat power as a zero-sum contest between groups. — Andrew L. Whitehead, American Idolatry, 224