Above: the informational capacity of the human eye at different light intesensities
In the often mentioned here book The Information by James Gleick, there is a passing reference to cyberneticists studying the “information capacity” of different human sense organs such as the ear or eye. Lead by Homer Jacobson of Brooklyn College/Hunter College in the 1950s, scientists considered how the senses might be like other information channels such as telephone lines. If electronic communication methods could be quantitatively measured for capacity, couldn’t the same be done for the inputs to our brains (also essentially electric devices)?
In a series of articles, Jacobson and others outline tests done in their labs to attempt to measure the human ear, eye, and later the human fingertip. The articles are surprisingly readable and, while there is math involved, it seems to be more logical thinking than “hard” mathematics. Their methodology is essentially to measure “calculation of total numbers of yes-no decision, i.e., the standard informational units of ‘bits’ (binary digits)”1 with the material measured depending on the sense (black and white patterns for the eye).
The maximum informational capacity, in a nutshell:
EAR
Homer Jacobson
50,000 bits/second
EYE
Homer Jacobson
4.3 x 10^6 bits/second
FINGERTIP
Kenneth J Kokjer
100 bits/second
1. The Informational Capacity of the Human Eye. Homer Jacobson. Science, Vol 113, pg 292. 1951