Noise matters : the evolution of communication

Noise, as we usually think of it, is background sound that interferes with our ability to hear more interesting sounds. In general terms, though, it is anything that interferes with the reception of signals of any sort. It includes extraneous energy in the environment, degradation of signals in transit, and spontaneous random activity in receivers and signalers. Whatever the cause, the consequence of noise is error by receivers, and these errors are the key to understanding how noise shapes the evolution of communication.

Noise Matters breaks new ground in the scientific understanding of how communication evolves in the presence of noise. Combining insights of signal detection theory with evidence from decades of his own original research, Haven Wiley explains the profound effects of noise on the evolution of communication. The coevolution of signalers and receivers does not result in ideal, noise-free communication, Wiley finds. Instead, signalers and receivers evolve to a joint equilibrium in which communication is effective but never error-free. Noise is inescapable in the evolution of communication.

Wiley's comprehensive approach considers communication on many different levels of biological organization, from cells to individual organisms, including humans. Social interactions, such as honesty, mate choice, and cooperation, are reassessed in the light of noisy communication. The final sections demonstrate that noise even affects how we think about human language, science, subjectivity, and freedom. Noise Matters thus contributes to understanding the behavior of animals, including ourselves.

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Signal detection theory, fundamental in many branches of science, is central to this volume. Researchers have studied the adverse impacts of noise on wildlife and how the physical environment attenuates signals. Wiley (emer., Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill) treats "noise" as a primary factor in shaping acoustic communication and addresses both its evolution and day-to-day applications. Part 1 (six chapters) describes noise in general and acoustic signals in particular, how signals are sent and received under different noisy conditions, and what a communicator can do about it (e.g., loudness, perch choice). This section could be a book in itself. Part 2 (five chapters) offers a general evolutionary model of signaling and receiving in the context of true and false detection or receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves (i.e., what is the optimal signaling to keep messages from being corrupted?). Part 3 (five chapters) addresses honesty in communication and its role in sexual selection, cooperation, and social organization. It crosses all levels of organization from molecular to societal. Part 4 (four chapters), which focuses on human communication, is more far-reaching and speculative. One quibble is that Wiley covers deafness but not tinnitus, which affects about 10 percent of Americans. Parts of the book are technical but well-explained enough for all readers. Summing Up: Recommended. All readers. --Joanna Burger, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick

List of Figures	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
Part 1 Noise and Ways to Reduce It	p. 7
1 Noise and Signals Introduced	p. 9
2 Producing Acoustic Signals in Noise	p. 18
3 Receiving Acoustic Signals in Noise	p. 36
4 Transmission of Acoustic Signals	p. 61
5 Adaptations to Noise in Different Environments	p. 85
6 Reducing Noise, Enhancing Performance	p. 104
Part 2 Evolution of Signalers and Receivers	p. 127
7 Signals, Receivers, and Evolution	p. 131
8 Optimal Receivers and Signalers	p. 155
9 Payoffs for Participants	p. 184
10 Joint Optima for Signalers and Receivers	p. 209
11 Evaluation and Extension of the Model	p. 241
Part 3 Altered Perspectives	p. 269
12 Honesty in Communication	p. 273
13 Sexual Selection as Communication	p. 284
14 Cooperation by Communication	p. 303
15 Complex Societies	p. 322
16 Molecular Signals	p. 345
Part 4 Far Horizons	p. 355
17 Human Communication	p. 357
18 Truth in Language	p. 375
19 Subjectivity	p. 384
20 Verification	p. 395
Conclusion	p. 411
Bibliographic and Other Notes	p. 413
Acknowledgments	p. 491
Index	p. 493

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