The Wonder of Hearing

This talk addresses the intricacy in the design of the mammalian ear, and in particular the human ear. There is minute and detailed engineering involved in the movement in air of acoustic waves which then transmit vibrations through to the mechanical movement of three tiny bones in the ear, then to movement in liquid, then movement of a special membrane splitting the sound into its component parts by frequency, then movement of very tiny hairs, and finally through electro-chemical bonds generating electrical signals to go to the brain. Professor McIntosh brings to bear his acoustic engineering background to show that the frequency analyser we all have in our ears is not only an example of brilliant engineering design, but is also a tribute to the beauty of what the Lord has made in sound sensory mechanisms, and the ability to appreciate voice and music.