Powers of Hearing: The Military Science of Sound Location | Hacker News Reader

Powers of Hearing: The Military Science of Sound Location

thereader.mitpress.mit.edu

50 pointssamizdis6 comments

Kind of orthogonal to TFA, but I really wish we were issued suppressors and electronic hearing protection when I was an infantryman. It's baffling that you are expected to communicate with your ears ringing from gunfire. My hearing is crap now, too.

Suppressors (and other items) should be considered PPE, not some evil silent murder device.

Hearing doesn't come back and people are very lax about protecting it, or letting other people protect their own hearing due to unfounded fears about firearms and accessories.

British forces are suffering today from kit that's still under development - eg the Ajax armoured vehicle - even though damaging effects have manifested for years:

> All trials involving Ajax were suspended again last month when it also emerged that some crew members involved in the trials were continuing to receive medical attention after concerns were raised over "noise and vibration levels".

Full article:

https://www.forces.net/news/ajax-manufactuer-noise-and-vibra...

what totally sold me on suppressors was an interview with a company that made suppressors for shotguns. Retrievers (gun dogs) go deaf after a few years. Shotgun suppressors are for the benefit of the dogs. They should be mandatory.

I can appreciate the practical considerations that require setting a precise time for an armistice to go into effect. However, looking at that first image in the article of the readout from sound ranging equipment just before and after the armistice, the thing that stands out to me is how pointless the last couple of artillery shells before a scheduled cease-fire seem.

I suppose without the benefit of hindsight you could argue that one side or the other might have gained a slight advantage with those last shots if hostilities restarted. But knowing the outcome, it just feels really bizarre to think about those last moments.

The end of World War I was somewhat chaotic [1] as General Pershing (US Commander) and other high ranking officers issued orders to cease hostilities on November 11th, but did not clearly state what to do in the interim. Lower level commanders either believed that territory held when the armistice went into effect would be kept, or sought to enhance their military careers by one final action, ordered offensives right up until the last minute. General Pershing would later have to testify before congress on why there were so many casualties on the last few days of the war, but no action was taken against him.

[1] Eleventh Month, Eleventh Day, Eleventh Hour: Armistice Day, 1918 World War I and Its Violent Climax Paperback – October 12, 2005 by Joseph E. Persic

Reply on news.ycombinator.com