Decibels and octaves, who needs them?

Decibels and octaves have been in use for almost a century and appear to have become deeply entrenched. However, with the advent of digital signal processing, routine methods of measuring sound intensity (sound power flow per unit area) and the widespread use of pascal units for pressure, their usefulness is open to question. This short communication examines the origins of decibels and octaves and why they appear to have become a blind alley for acoustics.