Editor,

Too bad my previous letter was delayed in publication. Mr. Sparks might have saved himself some embarrassment by reading it, and I am compelled to rebut his nonsensical comments about Growler noise again. Mr. Sparks must have graduated from the Ron Santos School of Engineering, motto “Baffle them with BS.” It is his numbers that are incorrect and easily disproven! As any engineering text on sound propagation will explain, sound pressure decreases 6 dB for each doubling of distance. It is incorrect to halve the decibels for double the distance. Yes, this is a simplification, and sound pressure can be either higher or lower than the simple model predicts, but anyone who doesn’t grasp the fundamentals of decibels has no business carrying the argument further. Mr. Sparks, please study up or leave the technical arguments to real engineers and scientists.

Paul Mathews

Langley