MIT lab studies intuitive physics of sound: how humans infer object properties from impact sounds
JoshHMcDermott · x · 2026-11-10
A new MIT Josh McDermott lab paper (led by Vin Agarwal with James Traer) uses the perception of impact sounds as a window onto audio-based "intuitive physics." The accompanying figure shows how impact force and an object's impulse response combine into the impact sound, from which the brain jointly infers physical variables like mass, material, and damping.
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