groups vs streams

[David Spondike <Dspondike@xxxxxxx>]

Dear list -

This has been a fascinating conversation. I would like to mention a couple of
things that I believe may be just taken for granted and are being left
unsaid. It seems that the question being asked is: when does the individual
stream of any individual hand clap become indistinguishable from the
applause? As mentioned in a previous post, the distance from any individual
clapper will correlate with an ability to distinguish the sound of that
clapper.  More fundamentally, one needs to consider the directed attention of
the listener. One can focus on any number of individual clappers if he or she
is close enough to the source of applause. The question then becomes: how
distant must the listener be before any individual clapper becomes
indistinguishable from the applause, despite the effort of any directed
attention on the part of the listener?
    Secondly- for me as a musician, it is this very ambiguousness of
perception that offers the most interesting and fruitful material for
composition.

Thank you list,
David Spondike
Dspondike@aol.com