caa a22 4500 445838035 CHVBK 20180317145335.0 cr unu---uuuuu 170323e20110201xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/s11023-010-9221-z doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/s11023-010-9221-z Weber-Fechner Law and the Optimality of the Logarithmic Scale [Elektronische Daten] [R. Portugal, B. Svaiter] Weber-Fechner Law states that the perceived intensity is proportional to the logarithm of the stimulus. Recent experiments suggest that this law also holds true for perception of numerosity. Therefore, the use of a logarithmic scale for the quantification of the perceived intensity may also depend on how the cognitive apparatus processes information. If Weber-Fechner law is the result of natural selection, then the logarithmic scale should be better, in some sense, than other biologically feasible scales. We consider the minimization of the relative error as the target of natural selection and we provide a formal proof that the logarithmic scale minimizes the maximal relative error. Springer Science+Business Media B.V., 2010 Weber-Fechner Law nationallicence Quantization nationallicence Relative error nationallicence Logarithmic scale nationallicence Numerosity nationallicence Portugal R. Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil aut Svaiter B. IMPA, Estrada Dona Castorina 110, 22460-320, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil aut Minds and Machines Springer Netherlands 21/1(2011-02-01), 73-81 0924-6495 21:1<73 2011 21 11023 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11023-010-9221-z text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11023-010-9221-z text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Portugal R. Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Svaiter B. IMPA, Estrada Dona Castorina 110, 22460-320, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Minds and Machines Springer Netherlands 21/1(2011-02-01), 73-81 0924-6495 21:1<73 2011 21 11023 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer