The late Gustave Alexander,1 in a paper published in 1930, offered a bit of valuable advice to those investigating problems in audition. This advice is well worth repeating, even if Alexander himself did not follow it. He said:
We must avoid overpowering the facts. Our theory must place us in a position to readily explain all the facts derived through anatomical study and through clinical observations. The application of facts, correct in themselves, toward passing judgment on theories of hearing, have been subject to repeated error.
It is universally accepted that the auditory cells react to a physical stimulus resulting from sound vibrations and that this response to pressure is essential to the activation of the applied nerve terminals. There are at least two ways in which this may come about. The accepted interpretation assumes that the auditory cells are nonspecific in their frequency reactions because all of these cells