Day: August 20, 2020

Curiositys, Music, Science, TechnologyLeave a comment

Time’s Arrow Flies through 500 Years of Classical Music, Physicists Say

Fernando Kaskais

A statistical study of more than 8,000 compositions shows how the flow of time distinguishes music from noise. By Karmela Padavic-Callaghan  What, exactly, makes music to the ears? Time will tell, according to a new study of five centuries’ worth of compositions. Using techniques derived from statistical mechanics—typically used to study large groups of particles—a team of physicists has mathematically measured the “time irreversibility” of more than 8,000 pieces of Western classical music. Published in Physical Review Research in July, their study quantifies what many listeners intuit: noise can sound the same played forwards or backward in time, but composed music sounds dramatically different in … Continue reading Time’s Arrow Flies through 500 Years of Classical Music, Physicists Say

Brain, Living, Media&Culture, PsychologyLeave a comment

Newly Identified Social Trait Could Explain Why Some People Are Particularly Tribal

Fernando Kaskais

by PETER DOCKRILL Having strong, biased opinions may say more about your own individual way of behaving in group situations than it does about your level of identification with the values or ideals of any particular group, new research suggests. This behavioural trait – which researchers call ‘groupiness’ – could mean that individuals will consistently demonstrate ‘groupy’ behaviour across different kinds of social situations, with their thoughts and actions influenced by simply being in a group setting, whereas ‘non-groupy’ people aren’t affected in the same way. “It’s not the political group that matters, it’s whether an individual just generally seems … Continue reading Newly Identified Social Trait Could Explain Why Some People Are Particularly Tribal

Brain, Philosophy, Psychology, ScienceLeave a comment

The space between our heads

Fernando Kaskais

Brain-to-brain interfaces promise to bypass language. But do we really want access to one another’s unmediated thoughts? by Mark Dingemanse is associate professor in language and communication at Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands. He won the Heineken Young Scientists Award in the Humanities 2020.Listen here Edited by Sam Dresser In a nondescript building in Seattle, a man sits strapped to a chair with his right hand resting on a touchpad. Pressed against his skull is a large magnetic coil that can induce an electrical current in the brain, a technique known as transcranial magnetic stimulation. The coil is positioned in … Continue reading The space between our heads