3 ms·

A lot of the binaural stuff try to set up "beats" by playing a slightly different frequency to each ear. Neither frequency is 40Hz, but the beat frequency may b

A lot of the binaural stuff try to set up "beats" by playing a slightly different frequency to each ear. Neither frequency is 40Hz, but the beat frequency may be. There's an absolute shedload of woo-woo stuff on the purported consciousness-enhancing benefits if you google around. That's not to say they definitely don't do funny things to your brain. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beat_(acoustics)#Binaural_beats https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beat_(acoustics)#Binaural_beat...

duskwuff 8y ago
> There's an absolute shedload of woo-woo stuff on the purported consciousness-enhancing benefits if you google around. Oh god, yes, and it isn't even new. Back around 2005, I ran into a web site selling audio files which they claimed would cure addictions, attract romantic partners, improve luck...
- joezydeco 8y ago
  And, twenty years before that, this group claimed that binaural "synchronization" of the hemispheres of the brain could lead to out-of-body travel. https://www.monroeinstitute.org/ https://www.monroeinstitute.org/ I think they've backed down on some of those claims over the last 30 years, but they'll be happy to take your money for a 5 day onsite retreat.
pmoriarty 8y ago
"That's not to say they definitely don't do funny things to your brain." Exactly. I actually just went in to Ardour and edited down that one "20 Hz" video I mentioned made me feel weird [1] so that it played the loudest part continuously instead of fading in and out, and then listened to it again and after 5 or 10 minutes of listening to it I felt really weird again, and started to get worried about what it might be doing to me, so I stopped. It's really interesting, though, and I hope some serious research is conducted on this sort of sound's psychological effects. [1] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-eTVW8VMRQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-eTVW8VMRQ

duskwuff 8y ago

> There's an absolute shedload of woo-woo stuff on the purported consciousness-enhancing benefits if you google around. Oh god, yes, and it isn't even new. Back around 2005, I ran into a web site selling audio files which they claimed would cure addictions, attract romantic partners, improve luck...

joezydeco 8y ago
And, twenty years before that, this group claimed that binaural "synchronization" of the hemispheres of the brain could lead to out-of-body travel. https://www.monroeinstitute.org/ https://www.monroeinstitute.org/ I think they've backed down on some of those claims over the last 30 years, but they'll be happy to take your money for a 5 day onsite retreat.

pmoriarty 8y ago

"That's not to say they definitely don't do funny things to your brain." Exactly. I actually just went in to Ardour and edited down that one "20 Hz" video I mentioned made me feel weird [1] so that it played the loudest part continuously instead of fading in and out, and then listened to it again and after 5 or 10 minutes of listening to it I felt really weird again, and started to get worried about what it might be doing to me, so I stopped. It's really interesting, though, and I hope some serious research is conducted on this sort of sound's psychological effects. [1] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-eTVW8VMRQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-eTVW8VMRQ