Urbanization shortened the distance humans can hear and see

Evidence

The quiet ambiance of the hi-fi soundscape allows the listener to hear farther into the distance just as the countryside exercises long-range viewing. The city abbreviates this facility for distant hearing (and seeing) marking one of the more important changes in the history of perception. — Schafer, Murray R, The Soundscape- Our Sonic Environment…, 150

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Schafer, Murray R, The Soundscape- Our Sonic Environment…, 150
• XREF: connects to: Personal acoustic space expands while physical space shrinks. — Schafer, Murray R, The Soundscape- Our Sonic Environment…, 700; A once rich urban natural soundscape has been thinned by development — Pauline Oliveros, Deep Listening, 34; Urban birds shift their songs to higher pitches to escape traffic noise — Gordon Hempton, John Grossmann, One Square Inch of Silence- One Man’s…, 941 (+8 more)

Broader Connections

• City dwellers become functionally deaf to a constant low background urban hum #exemplifies (0.70) — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels, 94
• Pre-industrial daily life exposed people to far lower sound levels than today #expands (0.50) — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels, 152
• Noise-cancelling headphones can abruptly eliminate a city’s pervasive low-frequency hum #complicates (0.50) — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels, 126
• Anthropologists long overlooked the acoustics of ancient environments #expands (0.40) — Gordon Hempton, John Grossmann, One Square Inch of Silence- One Man’s…, 801