Perceiving the Length of One Rod by Means of Another
Andrew Peck · 2019
The length of a hand-held rod can be perceived without benefit of vision, simply by wielding it. A first hypothesis is that perception of target length is dependent on the rotational inertia of the target and is indifferent to the probe’s properties, and the spatial configuration of probing. A second hypothesis, and one that is more realistic, is that perception of target length depends on the target’s rotational inertia and on the probe’s properties, and the spatial configuration of probing. If “wielding at a distance” is a generalization of ordinary wielding, in the sense that the same type of quantity is relevant to both variants of dynamic touch, then we should expect to find a functional dependency of perceived target length on rotational inertia. Specifically, perceived target length should increase as approximately the 1/3 power of a quantity with the dimensions of mass × squared length.