People can tell if a sound is coming from their right or left, by the small delay of the sound reaching their ears. How do people recognise if a sound comes from above or below?

Question

People can tell if a sound is coming from their right or left, by the small delay of the sound reaching their ears. How do people recognise if a sound comes from above or below?

In: 222

Answer 1

You actually don’t, at least not with same resolution as right-left. Destin’s testing in that Smarter Every Day vid is valid but I’d argue humans cock their heads when they hear something weird for the same reason dogs do it: getting that vertical separation gives you a *much* more precise location. In fact, I wonder if they let his son cock his head sideways that his vertical resolution would’ve improved even with the playdoh.