In reply to:
They are continuous. On the computer screen, an artificial contrast or step is created between each quantum, and our visual system accentuates this difference, so we see a line if we look closely
But this is because of lateral inhibition / the whole center surround receptive field of the retinal ganglion and visual cortex (and arguably also the horizontal cells and the amacrine cells, as they begin to sort data in between the different cone and rod cells before the ganglion cells touch it). In other words, contrast is REALLY perceptible in the visual system; it's meant to be that way. Our brains rely on contrast for vision, not so much the actual image; so much so that the magnocellular cortical layers are much thinner than the parvocellular layers. (Magnocellular is basically motion, wheras parvocellular is color and form, both of which get a huge deal of information specifically from contrast.)
In reply to:
SOOOO, for those of you still here, I will hypothesize that with constantly changing music, our sensitivity to frequency response is higher than with fixed tones. If we can hear a symphonic peak clearly, at 11 million times the power level of a whisper, and if we can distinguish both within a second of each other, then perhaps we can hear all those subtleties that many engineers would love to dismiss.
Well, true, but not like we'll be able to do this much; as after that second, there will be data sent from your Medial Superior Olive to the outer hair cells that cause them to lenghten (and comically produce a funny otoacoustic emission of that same frequency in the process, but this is besides the point) and thus make their selective frequency quieter (by bracing the basilar membrane at the corresponding frequency) and decrease the loudness. Plus, I wouldn't imagine it to be too clear until this is happening, and even if it was, you'd be damaging your stereocilia. Even if you don't damage the inner hair cells, damaging the outer hair cells is bad for day to day life, as the noise control is needed for discerning every day sounds from important ones (ie. detecting and understanding voice in lyrics over the loud compuer I have in front of me.)
